Post Tenebras Lux: Season 2
by OnASnowyDay
Summary: With the tomb vampires gone, Elowen Ramirez thinks her only problem is her growing feelings for Damon, however, she couldn't be more wrong. Katherine Pierce decides to make an appearance, and with her comes the Original vampires. Elowen begins to learn more about why her and Elena share a striking resemblance, all while trying to keep her look alike alive.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**: Welcome to season two! I'm actually pretty proud of how this one turned out and I hope you guys like it. Here's a quick reminder of everybody's faceclaims.

Elowen: Victoria Justice

Josiah: Blake Michael

Esmeralda: Gina Rodriguez

Luis: Ryan Guzman

There will be new OCs appearing in s2 and I'm sure you'll like them. Enjoy everyone!

**xxxx**

Stefan and Elowen stood there in a very, very prolonged lapse of silence. His face had a broad range of emotions on it. Sadness, confusion, but most importantly, betrayal. The look of hurt that clouded his eyes, directed at her, crushed Elowen, but she knew she had no right to feel that way. This was her fault.

"There's nothing I can say to make this any better. I know that," she spoke quietly. "This was exactly what you feared would happen and…. I almost made it come true." She glanced back inside the hospital. Josiah was sitting down with Matt, who had his arm wrapped around his shoulders. Tyler was on the phone a few feet away. He seemed distressed.

"I think it was…. In the moment of things. He wasn't putting up a front like he usually does. He was just…. Damon. No tricks or sarcasm or smart remarks." Elowen shook her head. "None of this will make it any better. I'll understand if you want space."

Stefan was still staring at her with that same miserable look. She had to avert her eyes. It made her feel more and more guilty the longer he looked at her like that.

"Stefan…. Say something." She willed herself to look back at him. "Anything. Please."

Another couple of minutes passed. Sighing, Elowen finally gave up. She didn't blame him for giving her the silent treatment. She started to walk back towards the hospital doors when he, at last, spoke up.

"Y'know…. The worst part is, I'm not that surprised," He mumbled. Elowen turned back around. Stefan gave a bitter laugh and met her eyes. "I think that's the part that hurts the most."

"Stefan…" Elowen took a few steps back towards him, but he backed away. She took the hint and stopped. Stefan saw Tyler rushing towards the door behind Elowen's shoulder and took off. She watched him disappear, her stomach in knots to the point that she didn't even process Tyler's arrival until he crashed into her.

"Shit, sorry." He grabbed her shoulders to steady them both. "Look, I've gotta go. Keep me posted, okay?" Tyler let go and continued his haste run out of the hospital.

Elowen didn't go back into the hospital until Tyler had left.

**xxxx**

Hours had passed. Neither Matt, Josiah or Elowen knew exactly how long it had been, but it felt like an eternity. Caroline was still in surgery. It seemed as if the doctor's kept finding more and more things wrong in the operating room.

Bonnie arrived and spotted them immediately. She hurried over and caught their attention.

"How is she?"

"She's not good." Josiah shook his head. "We haven't heard news in forever. They're still in surgery."

Bonnie squatted down in front of Matt. "What happened?"

Matt shrugged his shoulders hopelessly. Even he wasn't quite sure what had happened and he had been in the car! "We were driving," he started to explain. "... And then Tyler heard this noise and next thing I know, we were crashing."

Elowen looked over at this new piece of news. "Tyler never said anything about a noise." Her and Josiah glanced at one another. The Gilbert device was only supposed to affect vampires. If the noise was the same one Stefan heard…. Why was Tyler able to hear it, too?

"He said it was some kind of migraine or something, but…. There was no noise. Whatever it was, it made him lose control of the car and… well, here we are." Matt shook his head. "I don't understand. Caroline was _fine_. I was fine. Tyler was fine. And then she just… collapsed."

Elowen saw Elena approaching them and met her halfway. Bonnie was right behind her.

"Hey…" she greeted grimly. "How is Caroline?"

"She's weak," Elowen explained glumly. "They don't know if she's gonna make it."

"What?" Elena started to choke up within seconds. She'd known Caroline since they were in diapers. She was one of her closest friends. To hear that she might die… No, she thought. Don't think that way. Bonnie embraced her tightly.

"Isn't there something that you can do?" Elena asked as she pulled back. "Like a spell or something?"

"She doesn't know how, do you?" Damon asked Bonnie condescendingly. He came up behind Elowen and stood not even a foot away. She could feel his body heat radiating off of him. She did her best to stand her ground.

"No, I don't," Bonnie admitted.

"No, you don't," repeated Damon. "It took Emily _years _to learn a spell like that."

"Well, I can take down a vampire," Bonnie threatened. "That spell was easy to learn."

"Hi, hello, yeah, I'm still here." Elowen waved at everyone to draw attention to herself. "I don't think I can do a spell like that on my own. However… maybe, if me, Josiah and my mom work together, we could make a dent. It would be enough for Caroline to be able to heal on her own."

Elowen could practically feel Damon obnoxiously shaking his head from behind her. "One person is believable. Three standing around her bed like some sort of cult? Too conspicuous."

"What do you propose we do then?" She finally turned around and faced him. She had been trying to ignore him as best as she could, but he always seemed to know exactly how to get a reaction. Damn him.

"I can give her some of my blood."

"No, no way," Elena immediately protested. Neither of them paid her any mind. Instead, they never broke eye contact with each other.

"Do it," Elowen agreed. She knew that he was only offering to help because Caroline was a close friend of hers, but it still showed that he could care. Both of them knew that.

"Are you crazy?" Elena questioned rhetorically. "It's too risky!"

"This is Caroline we're talking about, Elena." Elowen's eyes left Damon's at last. She was looking at Elena now. "Do you see any other option here? We can't just let her die."

"I'm with Elowen on this," Bonnie agreed. She wanted Elena to know that there was no room for arguing. She seemed to get the hint. "Do it."

"If I do this, you and me," Damon gestured between him and Bonnie, "call a truce?"

"No," Bonnie rejected. "But you and I both know you'll do it anyway. For Elowen."

Bonnie left stubbornly without another word. Elena cleared her throat and turned to Elowen.

"I'm sorry I took Stefan away from the hospital. It's just that some stuff happened with Jeremy and I freaked out. I didn't know who else to call."

A small crease formed in between Elowen's eyebrows. Elena didn't seem to notice, but Damon caught it. He tilted his head in curiosity.

"Um… it's um, fine. Is Jeremy okay?" She played along. She didn't want to go around letting everyone in on her and Stefan's business. This was easier.

"Yeah," Elena said with a sigh of relief. "Thank god."

"That's… good."

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Elena pointed back towards Bonnie, Matt and Josiah. "I'm gonna see if there's any news."

After she left, Damon smirked down at Elowen.

"Trouble in paradise?"

Elowen scowled. "Don't rub it in, dickwad."

Damon placed a hand on his chest in faux hurt. "Are you saying it was my fault?"

"Yes," Elowen stated. "Happy?" She knew that it was partially her fault, too. It was both of theirs. Except, she _really_ didn't want to talk about it anymore. In an attempt to run away, Elowen tried to head back to the others. Damon caught her arm and pulled her back.

"Hey, okay, okay. I'll be serious for two seconds," he promised. "I know it's probably the last thing you want to do right now, but we should really talk about what almost happened tonight."

"No, we really don't, Damon!" The words came out louder than she intended. A few nurses looked over at the noise and she could feel Josiah burning a hole in her back. She took a deep breath and lowered her voice. "You didn't see Stefan's face when I told him. We hurt him. _I _hurt him. I understand that you don't care how your actions affect other people, but I do. We may not have actually kissed, but that's not what matters to him. He thought he could trust me not to go there and I nearly did. That's what matters."

"Mom?" Elowen heard Josiah question from behind her. On reflex, she turned around. Esmeralda looked troubled. Conflicted. It's like she was fighting a battle of emotions inside. She hastily grabbed Josiah by the shoulder and hurried towards Elowen. She was confused, but met her mother halfway nonetheless. Esmeralda pulled them both off to the side.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Elowen asked worriedly. "What happened?"

Esmeralda was at a loss for words. When she picked up her phone, she was expecting an update about Caroline. Hearing that her ex-husband had been stabbed and was in critical condition was the last thing she ever thought she would experience. How the hell was she supposed to explain this?

"Mom?"

Esmeralda broke out of her thoughts and found both of her kids staring at her in anticipation. She opened her mouth and tried to explain the situation as best as she could.

"Luis…. Was attacked by someone. He was stabbed. Doctors don't know if he's gonna pull through."

Silence.

"Is... is this some kind of sick joke?" Josiah gave a forced laugh. "Because that's a really messed up thing to pull."

"I don't think she's joking, Jo…." Based off of Esmeralda's facial expression and the usual tug at the bottom of her stomach, Elowen could tell this was serious. Josiah's face went blank.

"You're serious?"

Esmeralda nodded her head. "He lost a lot of blood. Apparently the knife used hit a major artery and he almost bled out in the ambulance. He's in surgery right now."

Neither Josiah nor Elowen knew how to react to this news. This man was responsible for almost, if not every, bad thing that ever happened in their life. He hurt them. Physically, emotionally and mentally. They left their life in Atlanta behind because of him. Elowen couldn't stand anyone yelling around her anymore, let alone _at_ her. She was either indifferent about violence or ignored it at all costs. She still suffered from nightmares.

Josiah was at a constant battle with his anger issues. His first instinct was always to fight. Fight to protect Elowen and Esmeralda from Luis, fight when anyone looked at him wrong. Fight, fight, fight. He was terrified that one day, he would end up just like his dad.

And Esmeralda…. Sometimes, she would still find herself crying whenever she was alone. She blamed herself for Luis's behavior. If she were just a better wife, none of this ever would've happened. She feels lasting guilt; it was her fault her babies got hurt.

But all of them would sometimes think about when before things got bad. Before the yelling, the arguing, the punishing. They used to be so happy. And that was why, deep down, all of them found themselves worried for Luis.

Damon stood off to the side, listening in. He was distracted when Jenna showed up and started asking about John. He was injured, too? That couldn't be a coincidence.

"Where have you been?" Elena was asking.

"At the fire department," Jenna replied. "I had to fill out a report, remember? I told you earlier."

"No, you didn't." Elena shook her head.

"Yes, I did."

"No, Jenna. You didn't."

"Yes, I did," Jenna repeated, frustrated. Damon slowly started to put the pieces together. Both John and Luis were in the hospital, possibly attacked at the same time and with the same weapon. Elena had no memory of anything Jenna told her. And, now that he thought about it…. When he left her house after offering to wipe Jeremy's memory, her hair was curled. It was pin straight now.

"Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me."

**xxxx**

After telling Elowen that Katherine was in town, her and Damon rushed back to Elena's house to warn Stefan. Except, when they passed the threshold, Stefan was sprawled out on the floor. He stood the second he saw them.

"What happened?" Elowen asked worriedly. She took a step towards him, but decided against it. They were both probably the last people he wanted to see right now.

"Katherine happened," Damon stated.

Stefan and Damon moved to the kitchen. Jeremy had briefly come down to ask what all the commotion was. Elowen got him to go back to his room and explained what happened. To say he was confused was an understatement.

"Wait, so, Elena has some evil twin roaming around Mystic Falls? And we have no idea what she wants?"

"That sums it up pretty well."

Jeremy plopped on his bed and held his head. "This doesn't make any sense."

Elowen came to sit in the chair at his desk. "Nope."

Jeremy sighed and sat up. He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment. "Can I… ask you something?"

"Sure." Elowen shrugged. "Shoot."

"Am I the one who really wanted to forget?"

Elowen leaned forward in the chair and rested her elbows on her thighs. "I think you already know the answer to that, Jeremy."

Jeremy stared at the ground. "I'm sorry," he muttered after a long while. "For how I've been treating you and Jo and for everything I said. I didn't mean it when I said you should go to hell."

Elowen gave a sympathetic smile. "It's okay. You were confused and overwhelmed. You felt betrayed. It was only a natural reaction."

"Maybe. But when I found out the truth, something in the back of my head… flipped. Like a switch. It told me that I wanted it all along. And yet, I still gave everyone the cold shoulder."

"Hey…. I said it's okay. That was your way of processing everything. It was a lot of information to take in." She patted Jeremy on the shoulder and got up. "I'm gonna head back downstairs."

She'd just reached the door when Jeremy spoke up again.

"Thank you."

"For what?" She asked, turning to face him.

"For always being honest with me. Everyone always wants to treat me like a kid. You don't. It's a nice change."

She smiled. "You're welcome, Jeremy."

When she made it back down to the kitchen, she let out a big sigh. "Jeremy's up to speed. Not sure how Elena will like that." She crossed her arms. "The bad news is, Katherine's been invited in."

"No, the bad news is that Katherine's here in the first place," Damon corrected. "At least we know she doesn't want anyone dead or they would be already."

Everything suddenly clicked. Elowen slowly shook her head. "Katherine was the one who attacked John and Luis. And I think…. She's the one who killed Vicki and Lexi. Think about it. They were coming back to town for whatever reason and then they're dead? And Katherine strolls into town a few weeks later? That can't be a coincidence."

"Okay, correction. Katherine wants people dead. Not much of a surprise there."

"Right," Stefan intervened. "And we need to find out what those other plans are and not provoke her in the process." He shot a look to Damon, who smirked in response. Stefan rolled his eyes. "What happened tonight when you thought she was Elena?"

"Not much, really." Damon shrugged. "Other than the fact that she tried to kiss me," he casually added at the end.

"The same way you tried to kiss Elowen?"

"Don't be obvious, Stefan." Damon taunted. "Can you really blame me? Look at her." He nodded his head towards Elowen. "She's a keeper, Stef. Besides, she didn't exactly seem to protest."

Stefan started towards Damon, his jaw tightened with bottled up anger. Elowen quickly stood in between them and stared Stefan in the eyes. "Stop. We don't have time for this right now." She looked at Damon. "And you. Stop being a prick for once. There's more serious stuff at hand."

Stefan backed down but continued to glare at Damon.

"We've got to figure out a game plan then." His eyes flickered to Elowen. "John might know something."

"I'm sorry, Stefan, but you're gonna have to do that on your own," Elowen said with a bite to her words. "He brought my dad to town, tried to kill you and was prepared to let me and Jo die in that fire. I don't care if he knows anything. He can rot in hell."

"I've got a better idea." Damon grabbed an apple off of the island and walked towards Elowen and Stefan. "I'm just gonna ignore the bitch." He tossed the piece of fruit at Elowen, who caught it easily. "If Katherine thinks she's being ignored, it'll lure her out. Problem solved."

"And then what?"

"Stake her, rip her head off, something poetic. We'll see."

Damon disappeared out the front door without another word. Elowen stood there for a moment before following in his footsteps. She wasn't going to force Stefan to talk to her when he probably didn't want to. She made it halfway when Stefan called out to her.

"Elowen."

She turned around and had to tell herself not to get her hopes up. "Yeah?"

"Get home safe."

"Um, yeah, thanks," she awkwardly replied. "See you around."

She left. Stefan stared at the front door for a long moment. He still had a lot to think about.

**xxxx**

Elowen had gone back to the hospital. Her and Josiah stayed at the hospital overnight. She knew that he would want to stay and she also knew Esmeralda wouldn't let him do it on his own. Somehow, they managed to sleep in the waiting room.

Bonnie woke them both up early in the morning. "Hey. You two have been here all night?"

Elowen gave a long yawn while Josiah stretched beside her. She nodded. "Yeah. We waited for Damon to show up and then we crashed once we knew she was okay."

"So, she's much better now?" Bonnie asked hopefully.

Elowen nodded her head. "The blood should've hit her system hours ago."

Josiah had already gotten up and entered Caroline's room. She was wincing slightly from the tight hug he'd given her when Elowen and Bonnie caught up.

"Careful, Jo. Still a little sore."

"Sorry," he sheepishly apologized. "I'm just so glad to see you okay. Last night was scary."

"Aww." Caroline pouted at him sympathetically. She tapped at her jutted out lip. "Maybe a kiss will make it better."

Josiah laughed at her silliness, but still leaned in nonetheless. Elowen made a sound of disgust and wedged her way in between them.

"Okay, lovebirds, move. It's my turn." Elowen wrapped her arms around Caroline and did her best to be as gentle as she could. "Don't ever do something like this again, alright?"

"I'll try, but no promises." Caroline noticed Bonnie in the corner and tilted her head in concern. "Bonnie, why are you crying?"

Elowen pulled back and turned to see what she was talking about. Sure enough, tears were falling down Bonnie's cheeks. She sniffled and shook her head.

"I'm just so, so happy that everything turned out okay."

"Oh!" Caroline gushed. "I love you guys."

"We love you, too, Care," Elowen replied. The four of them embraced in a big group hug.

**xxxx**

Afterwards, when Bonnie had left, Caroline turned knowingly to the two siblings in the room. "Alright, spill. What did you do, put a spell on me?"

Elowen and Josiah shot one another with an uneasy glance. They hadn't thought about how to tell her that she'd been fed vampire blood and the risks that came with it. Well, now was better than never. Caroline continued to look at them expectantly.

"Well?"

Josiah took a tentative step forward. "A healing spell wouldn't have done much with the condition you were in. It was pretty bad, Care."

"Okay…" Caroline furrowed her eyebrows. Based off of their behavior, she wasn't really sure what to expect. "So, what did you do, then?"

Josiah glanced at Elowen again. He didn't know how to say the words. He hoped that she would step in and help. Caroline laughed nervously.

"C'mon, guys. It can't be that bad. It's not like you fed me some dangerous fungus or put a weird concoction with major side effects on my face, right?"

"Not exactly…" Elowen pulled Josiah out of the way and took his spot. "We used vampire blood to heal you."

Caroline's face contorted into a repulsed frown. "Ew."

"That's not all, though." Elowen paused as she tried to form the correct words. "If you die with it in your system, you'll become a vampire yourself."

Caroline's eyebrows shot up towards her hairline. "Oh." She blinked as she tried to process this information. "But, I'll be fine, right? Nothing will happen to me?"

"I highly doubt it," Elowen reassured. "You're safe here in the hospital and the blood should be out of your system by tomorrow. We just thought you ought to know."

"No, no, thank you for telling me. If I found out you guys withheld a huge detail like that, I would kill you."

They all laughed. Josiah approached her bed and gently grabbed her chin. "In the end, I think the risk is worth it. You could've died if we didn't do anything."

Caroline took hold of his hand with a smile. "And I appreciate that you did what you had to do in order to save me. That's a difficult choice to make."

Suddenly, Elowen felt like she was intruding on something as Josiah leaned down to kiss her again. As quietly as she could, she backed out of the room and closed the door with a quiet click. She needed to go home and get a fresh pair of clothes anyway.

She made it about halfway to the exit when her eyes caught sight of the directional sign. It said that the Emergency Room was down the hall to her left. Her mind wandered back to last night. Esmeralda said that Luis was there in worse condition than Caroline had been. Against her better judgement, Elowen started to wander down the hall. She'd just made it the correct room when the door opened. She came face to face with Stefan.

The two stared at each other in silence. Peering over his shoulder, she could see both John and Luis's beds across from one another. John was looking at Stefan with wide, fearful eyes. Luis was unconscious, in a coma.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked lowly. Elowen crossed her arms and shrugged.

"I don't know."

Stefan glanced back into the room at Luis's unmoving form. He understood what she must be feeling. Trying so hard to hate someone, but being unable to. It was a textbook case of Stockholm Syndrome for her. He moved out of the way.

"You know why." He nodded his head in Luis's direction. "... I can, um, go in there with you," he awkwardly cleared his throat. "If you want."

Elowen's eyes darted back to Luis again. She knew she couldn't do this alone. It was a terrible idea to begin with. "I'd like that."

Both of them entered the room. Elowen paused for a second in front of Luis's bed. She took a deep breath before coming to stand next to him. She was quiet for a long moment. Then, tears started to well up in her eyes. She tried to blink them away, but they just kept coming. It wasn't until she let out a loud sob that Stefan wrapped his arms around her. John watched intently from his bed.

"I'm sorry."

They both turned to the source of the voice. John was trying to sit up. He winced and grit his teeth together, but managed to do it.

"If I had known…" He grunted in pain. "The type of person he really was, I wouldn't have let him come. He said your mother took off with you and your brother and that he just wanted to see his kids again. He really had me fooled. I'm sorry."

Elowen gave a bitter laugh. "He had everyone fooled. Nobody could believe it when we brought in picture proof during court. He immediately lost his job. No one would would accept him for residency. I don't even know if he was able to continue the whole surgeon thing. Frankly, I don't care." She sniffled as she watched Luis breath steadily. "Or at least, that's what I keep telling myself." She angrily wiped at her tears with the sleeves of her shirt. "I shouldn't have come here. It was a mistake. I need to go."

Stefan gently took hold of her arms and guided her out of the room. It wasn't until the door clicked shut that she let out a breath of relief. She wiped away the remainder of her tears and started back down the hall.

"Elowen, wait," Stefan called out. She stopped and heard the sound of his footsteps coming towards her. He tugged on her wrist and turned her into his arms. He hugged her tightly as she started sobbing into his chest. "Shhh," he shushed, running his hands down her back. "It's okay. I've got you. It's gonna be okay."

They stayed like that for a long while, holding each other in the middle of the hallway.


	2. Chapter 2

Elowen cleared her throat as her and Stefan left the hospital. He was walking her to Esmeralda's car. "Um, thanks. For staying back there with me."

"Of course."

They stopped in front of her car and stood there for a moment. Stefan made the first move and opened the door to the driver's side. Neither really knew what to say after that. Stefan opened his mouth as he tried to form the right words.

"So.. I've had some time to think about everything." He hesitantly took hold of her hands. "I'm not going to lie, I was hurt when you first told me." Elowen looked to the ground in shame. Stefan grabbed her chin and lifted her head back up. "But I'm really, really glad that you were honest with me. We both agreed that we were going to be honest with each other ages ago." He paused. It was obvious that what he was about to say was hard. "You said that you were still trying to figure out what Damon was to you. That he was a grey area. I think it's safe to say that you two have bonded pretty closely. There's a connection between you two."

"Stefan…."

"No, no, let me finish. The last thing I want is for history to repeat itself. We have a knack for falling for the same girl. And.. if you have to… go that route to figure it out, I'll be fine with that."

Elowen shook her head and cupped his face. "Stefan, I love you. And I _didn't_ kiss him. I admit I thought about it, but I couldn't do that to you. I didn't let it happen."

"I know. But, you bring out the good in him and I'm saying that if that's what happens… I'll be okay."

"It won't, Stefan," she reassured. "It won't."

**xxxx**

Elowen and Stefan walked up the steps to the Lockwood Manor. Tyler was still standing at the doorway greeting people. When he saw them, he walked to meet them the rest of the way.

"How's Caroline?"

"Much better," Elowen replied. "The doctor's say she's recovering really fast."

Tyler sighed in relief. "That's really good to hear. Thanks for coming."

"No problem."

Elowen and Stefan entered the manor and headed different ways. Stefan wanted to find Damon and Elowen wasn't sure she wanted to be near him at the moment. She wandered out onto the porch and saw Elena standing nearby. Well, it wasn't exactly Elena. She knew that.

"Hey, Katherine," she casually greeted as she passed by. Katherine was in front of her within seconds.

"You must be the annoying know-it-all witch. Stefan's girlfriend," she remarked with a scowl.

"That's me!" She replied with a sickeningly sweet smile. "But I don't need the help of my powers to know you aren't Elena. The hair is all wrong; Elena never curls it. Your stance and the way you carry yourself is too confident. Elena's much more… reserved. The clothes are pretty accurate, though. You must've stole them from her closet. You're also waaaay hotter. I think it's that confidence I was talking about."

Katherine crossed her arms with an inkling of wariness. However, there was a ghost of a smirk on her face from being called hot. She would have to keep that in mind. "Noted. Tell me, why are you giving me tips on how to impersonate Elena?"

Elowen shrugged. "If you're gonna do it, do it right. Now, if you'll excuse me." She walked passed Katherine and then Bonnie when she came storming out of the manor. She'd just made it back to the main part of the house when her ears overhead a nearby conversation.

"Oh, yeah, I'm Richard's younger brother, Mason. And this is my son, Toby."

"Well, it's nice to meet you!" A patron was saying. Elowen picked up her pace and turned the corner. Sure enough, Tobias was standing in the middle of the room. A grin broke out on her face as it lit up at the familiar face.

"Tobes!"

Tobias turned at the sound of his name and soon, his face mirrored hers. "Oh my god, Elles!" They met each other halfway and hugged one another.

"So, how have you been?" She asked when she pulled back. "I see you're with your dad now."

"Well, first of all, I go by Toby now. Call me Tobias and I will personally kill you."

"Whaaaaat? Come on, Tobias is a cool name!"

Toby scrunched his face up and shook his head. "No, it's not. It sounds too fairytale-ish."

"Whatever."

"Hey, bud, who's this?" Mason asked as he approached them. Toby pointed to Elowen.

"This is Elowen. We used to go to school together."

"Ohhhh." Mason nodded his head in understanding. "So _this_ is Elowen."

Elowen narrowed her eyes. "I really hope you've heard good things."

"Oh, of course! You're a good kisser and your mom is an amazing chef."

Elowen became flustered and the tips of Toby's ears turned red. "Dad!" He whined. "Way to make a good first impression."

Elowen cleared her throat loudly and decided to change the subject. She peered around the two of them as if she were looking for someone. "Where's Mick?" She asked at last. "I'd like to say hi to her, too."

Both Toby and Mason suddenly got awkward. They glanced at each other as if to ask who was going to break the news. Elowen waited expectantly, although she had a feeling that it wasn't going to be good.

"Mom, uhh… passed away earlier this year," Toby said finally. "That's why I'm with dad."

"I didn't even know he existed until the court practically dumped him on my doorstep," Mason elaborated. "But the past year or so have been some of the best months of my life."

Elowen smiled, albeit a little sadly. "Well, that's good to hear. Um.. if you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

"Car accident," Toby explained shortly. "Drunk driver. Hit mom's side at 90 miles per hour in a residential area."

"Aww, Toby, I'm so sorry." She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah. Me, too."

A thought dawned on her and she tilted her head. "Hang on…." Her eyes darted to Mason. Did he know about the Lockwood's history? As if reading her mind, Toby nodded.

"He knows. And yeah, it triggered the curse. I was the one behind the wheel, so I guess that was enough."

Elowen turned to Mason. "And you… have you…?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Mason answered. "What about Tyler?"

Elowen shook her head. "No, he's still human. Anger issues are as great as always."

"Good." Mason nodded. "Let's try and keep it that way."

**xxxx**

Having lost Stefan, Elowen found herself back on the porch. Damon came up behind her with a glass in his hand.

"Hello, my favorite little witch." He came to stand beside her and leaned against the railing.

"Hey," she addressed. Her gaze stayed out on the acres of land in front of her. There was a lot to look at; trees, bushes, flowers, fountains. She never really stopped to observe it all.

"Are you ignoring me because I tried to kiss you?" Damon asked haughtily with a smirk. Elowen gave a long sigh.

"Probably."

Damon hummed. He tilted his head ever so slightly to glance at her. "You almost let me, y'know."

"I know," she admitted. She still hadn't taken her eyes off of the property. Damon's eyebrows lifted in surprise. He wasn't expecting her to blatantly say so. Then again, there was a lot he didn't expect from her. That was what he liked so much about her. Expect the unexpected. Finally, she looked at Damon.

"But, Katherine is here now. You're gonna forget all about me and the almost kiss and all the flirting and the stupid bickering. You searched for her for 145 years, Damon. You don't just forget about that."

Damon turned his whole body towards her. "Are you… jealous?"

"No." She shook her head. "I'm saying that I'm just what you were fixating on because you thought she was gone. And now she's back."

"... You think she's going to send me off the deep end," he guessed.

"To be quite blunt, yes. Which would totally suck because you've come so far since you first came to town."

Damon chuckled softly. "You try so hard to see the good in everyone. Even the ones who don't deserve it. And you're quite obnoxious about it, too." Elowen tsked, but nodded in agreement anyway. "Why is that?"

Elowen shrugged. "I guess that's what happens when your father is a fucked up, psychotic, egotistical maniac. Your natural instinct is to try and convince yourself that their behavior is justified. That what they're doing is for a good reason."

"That deep down all of that negative energy, they're a good person," Damon finished. "Yeah, that's how I was with my dad, too."

Not wanting to talk or even think about Luis, Elowen quickly changed the subject. "Look, just be careful, okay? Don't let her get to you."

"Pffft, please. I'm the king of not letting anyone get to me. I've got this, Wen. Don't worry."

**xxxx**

Stefan and Katherine were walking along one of the many trails on the property of Lockwood manor. So far, Stefan wasn't able to get anything useful out of Katherine.

"You haven't changed at all, have you?" Stefan asked, halting his movement. Katherine stopped as well, standing in front of him.

"No, but you have. You're stronger. Meaner. It's sexy." Her eyes trailed up and down his body and bit her lip. Stefan sighed through his nose and acted as unbothered as he could.

"Don't flirt with me, Katherine. I'm not Damon; I haven't spent the last 145 years obsessed with you."

"Yeah? Well, based on your choice of women, I'd say otherwise. You've got to admit your little girlfriend looks like a less impressive me. Just imagine if you'd fallen for Elena instead." Katherine put her hand on her hip and tilted her head. "I did get the chance to meet the ever so lovely Elowen earlier. Funky name, by the way. She's…. Interesting. Poised and dare I say, debonair. I almost approve. Except, I'll admit that it bothers me that you've fallen in love with someone else."

"That's the thing, though, isn't it? I was never in love with you, Katherine. You compelled me. None of my feelings were real. None of it was. Everything with Elowen, though? That's very real. Including my feelings for her."

Katherine's upper lip twitched slightly with aggravation. "Believe with you want, Stefan. But, I know that truth and deep down, so do you."

"The truth?" Stefan put his arms behind his back as he started listing things off. "The truth is, you're the same lying, selfish, manipulative bitch that you've always been. You were able to fool young, naive, human me, but you won't be able to anymore. So, whatever it is that brought you here, get on with it and leave, will you? Because if you don't, I will hunt you down and I will rip your heart out."

Katherine clenched her jaw. This wasn't how she wanted this conversation to go. "You want to know why I'm here, Stefan? I came back for you."

Stefan nodded his head slowly. "I find that hard to believe. Why come back for me after all this time? You can obviously find me whenever you please. If you really cared, you wouldn't have lied to me about faking your death and you wouldn't have abandoned me when I needed you most. And the biggest problem? I hate you now."

Before he could think, Katherine zoomed over and took hold of an iron poker of some sort and stabbed him in the stomach with it. Stefan yelped in pain and hunched over.

"You hate me, huh? That sounds like the beginning of a love story, Stefan. Not the end of one." She ripped the weapon out and fled. Stefan collapsed to the ground with a dull thud.

When he'd finally healed a bit, he managed to call Elowen and fill her in. She met him on a bench somewhere on the grounds. Damon offered to go in search for Katherine and while Elowen didn't think that was the best idea, he did it anyway. Now, she was doing her best to clean up the blood and the part of his wound that hadn't healed yet.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, it'll heal."

"That's not what I meant."

"I was trying to figure her out. I should've known better, but I was playing along and I let her get to me."

Damon finally came back, alone.

"I tried to track her, but she's gone. Oof, cover up, Fabio." Damon scrunched his face and looked away. Stefan knew he was just being Damon, but he pulled his shirt down nonetheless. "Looks like we've got a crazy ex on the loose." He nudged Elowen's shoulder with the back of his hand. "You better watch out. Looks like Katherine is trying to steal your guy."

"That's not what's happening," Stefan denied.

"Isn't it? I mean, it's only fair since I went after your girl."

Elowen groaned and rubbed her temples. She didn't want to deal with this right now. "Okay, I'm gonna leave you two alone and when I come back, please be done with this." She got up and left. Once she was gone, Damon got into a boxing pose and punched at the air.

"So, what's it gonna be, huh? Fight to the death?" Stefan snorted and got up. "Go ahead, make your threats, stake your claim." Stefan shook his head.

"I'm not gonna fight you."

"Why?! I'd fight me. I'm a dick."

"You're not worth it. Besides, it's not what Elle would want. She doesn't want to be caught in between us any less than we want her to be."

"Are sure about that? Come on, Stef, you've got to admit that the threesome thing is hot."

"You're competitive, Damon. You want anything I want. You and I both know that you wouldn't be able to settle until she chooses."

"What, you're scared it might be me? Or do you just not like the idea of sharing her like we did with Katherine?"

Stefan shook his head again. "That's not it. I'm scared of what you might do when this is all over. Katherine is gonna try and play us against each other. You know that. She can and will use this to her advantage. She'll get in your head and break you down. It's what she does, Damon."

"Oh, don't worry, brother. Our bond is unbreakable."

"Stop being sarcastic like you aren't worried about this, too. We need to stay united against her. So, yes, as much as I would like to fight you right now, I'm not going to. For Elowen's sake. If you had a brain, you would do the same."

"But I tried to _kiss _her, Stefan," Damon egged on. "That's gotta sting at least a little."

"You tried to kiss her because you feel something for her. Because you actually care about her. I'm not gonna let Katherine come in here and destroy the part of you that is finally, after all this time, willing to feel something. She brings that part of you out, and quite frankly, I like this Damon. Katherine will test us. Try to break us apart and how we respond to that will define us. It's your choice, Damon. So no, I'm not going to fight you."

**xxxx**

Elowen didn't get home until later that night. After she left Stefan and Damon, she played catch up with Toby and then swung by the hospital. It took some persuasion, but between her and Caroline, she managed to get Josiah to come with her.

She climbed the stairs and took a very long awaited shower. She walked into her room with only a towel wrapped around her and stopped in her tracks when she found Damon perched on the edge of her bed. She squirmed. She wasn't sure how she felt being so exposed in front of him.

"I'm not looking," he spoke up. "Go ahead. Change."

She inched closer to her dresser and snatched a big tshirt off the top. As swiftly as possible, she put the shirt over the towel and pulled it as far down as it would go. It stopped at her knees. She let the towel drop from underneath and rushed to pull a pair of shorts on.

"Commando," he commented. "Sexy."

"What are you doing here, Damon?" She asked instead. "My house isn't some drop in center."

"I'm just doing my part in the neighborhood watch," he slurred innocently. Elowen tilted her head.

"Have you been drinking?"

Damon lifted his index and middle fingers, holding them close together. She narrowed her eyes and stepped closer.

"And you're upset. That's not a good combination."

"I'm not upset. That's an emotion specific to those who care."

"Stop that," she stated. "Denying that you have feelings. That doesn't do anyone any good." She took another few steps towards her bed. "You obviously care about me. That's something you can't deny, is it?"

"You're right." He looked up at her. "And you care about me, too." He stood and slowly started approaching her. Not prepared for him to do that, Elowen started backing up instead. "You've proven that time and time again, even after all the horrible things I've done. Turning Vicki, trying to kill Lexi, kidnapping you and taking you to Atlanta," he listed. "And yet, here you are."

Elowen found herself pressed against the wall. Damon stopped mere inches away from her. "You have to admit that what we've been doing here means something. There's something going on between the two of us and you know it."

Elowen was at a loss. She couldn't find her voice. Stefan's words from earlier rang through her head. But could she really do that to him? Except right now, other parts of her body were saying that yes, she could.

"You've been lying to me and to Stefan and most importantly, you've been lying to yourself. I can prove it."

Elowen could hear her heartbeat in her ears as Damon leaned forward. This time, she let him kiss her. He was surprisingly soft and delicate with her, but somehow intense at the same time. His hands came to cup her face as she kissed him back. She tightly grabbed onto his biceps as he deepened the kiss. His tongue slipped past her lips when the kiss started to get fiercer and more wild. He took hold of her thigh and wrapped it around his waist to create more friction and rolled his hips against hers. Her lack of underwear made it all the more pleasurable. She moaned loudly into his mouth when he did it again.

Damon started to plant sloppy kisses down her neck. Elowen was breathing heavily and leaned her head against the wall. It wasn't until she felt his cold hands slip under her shirt with the intention of removing it that her mind caught up with what was happening.

"Stop," she said breathlessly. "Damon, stop." She took hold of his shoulders and pushed him off of her. "I can't do this."

"Sure you can," he countered huskily. He grabbed her face again and tried to lean in for another kiss, but she put her hands on his chest to stop him.

"Damon, I said stop." Her voice was assertive enough to halt his movements. She squeezed past him and put distance between them. She had her hands in her hair as she tried to process everything that just happened.

When she finally caught her breath, she turned back to Damon. "You're an enticing, walking sin. And that's why this won't work."

"So you're admitting that there's something here?"

"Yes, but it's nothing but lust. I don't want a relationship solely based off of sex, Damon. That's not who I am. And that's all you've ever offered. You're afraid to have a real relationship and I refuse to let you use me that way."

"That's not all I see you as." Damon tried taking a step towards her again, but Elowen backed away.

"Yes, it is." Elowen swallowed. "I think it's best if you leave."

"Wen…"

"Damon, if you really…." She paused. She couldn't believe she was about to say this. "_Loved_ me, you would respect my wishes."

Damon's face dropped a little. She was right. He walked passed her, towards the window. "You're right. I'll leave."

When he was gone, Elowen sat on her bed with her head in her hands.

What did she just do?

**xxxx**

**Author's Note**: so, I'm not sure if any of you remember Toby at all, but he's Elowen's childhood best friend and ex boyfriend. His faceclaim is Rhys Matthew Bond. I hope you like him, because there's more to come from him!


	3. Chapter 3

Elowen strutted through the hallways of the high school on a mission. She needed to find Stefan and fill him in on last night's events. As much as she didn't want to, she knew she had to. Finally, she found him talking to Jeremy at his locker. Without a word, she came up behind him, took hold of the back of his shirt, and dragged him into an empty classroom. Before he could even ask anything, she was speaking.

"It happened. I kissed Damon."

Stefan seemed to freeze in his spot. He was trying so hard to mask his true emotions, but Elowen could see right through him. She shook her head.

"It wasn't the same as kissing you. When I kiss you, my tummy does flips and warmth spreads throughout my body. I feel like I'm on cloud 9. Our kisses are always filled with tenderness and affection and most importantly, love. When I kissed Damon…. It was nothing but lust and desire." Stefan's face twitched at hearing her admit she saw his brother that way. Elowen sensed this and grabbed onto his face. "But that's not what I want, Stefan. You can give me that and everything else in between. You listen to me. You communicate with me. You honor my wishes, even when you don't agree with them. It's more than just feelings, Stefan. It's everything else that comes with it."

"But you care about him."

"Of course I do, Stefan," she stated exasperatedly. "I'm not going to deny that just to make you feel better. That's not fair."

"I'm not asking you to." He placed his hands over hers and gently pried them off of his jawline. "What I'm trying to say is… In some shape or form, you care about him as more than a friend. I just…. I need to hear you say it."

"Stefan…"

"Elowen, please. For my sake and for yours, say it. Please."

Elowen closed her eyes. She needed to gather her bearings. She felt Stefan give her hands a light squeeze, but she could only focus on the pulsating headache that was building up behind her eyelids. She squeezed Stefan's hands back.

Despite her sudden sensitivity to light, she willed herself to open her eyes. She wet her lips and opened her mouth. It took a moment to get the words out.

"I'm still not really sure what it is, but… in some way, I _care_ about him." She was sure to put an extra strong emphasis on the word care. Stefan looked at her in a way that told her that wasn't answer he was looking for. She knew that, too. She was just afraid to say it.

"I… care about him as more than a friend," she finally confessed. "I wouldn't say I have feelings, but….." She sighed. "Maybe they are. I don't know."

"... Do you love him?" Stefan asked after a long moment.

"No."

"Can you see yourself loving him?"

Elowen opened her mouth to answer, but found it dying in her throat. Could she? Stefan looked at her expectantly. He seemed more on edge than he usually would be when they had conversations like this. Her silence was making him extra nervous.

"Maybe. Yes," she said at last. "I'm sorry. For putting you through this." She withdrew her hands from Stefan's grip. "It might be best if we just…" She trailed off.

"Don't finish that sentence," Stefan spoke up before she could continue. "We can figure this out."

"But-"

"You can't help what you feel. Am I ecstatic you have feelings for my brother? No. But, I'm not just going to abandon you."

"Then what the hell do you suppose we do?"

Stefan sighed. He knew it would crush her to make her choose. They both knew that Damon would go back to his reckless, closed off, dodgy self if it wasn't him. He also knew that Elowen would never be able to forgive herself for failing as a friend.

She loved him, Stefan knew that. He had an inkling of doubt that she'd leave him for Damon, in order to try something new, but in the end he knew she'd never do that. She would never leave him. And what kind of person would he be if he made her deny her feelings? If he forced her to forget about them? He could only think of one obvious solution.

"This is going to sound insane, and if it makes you uncomfortable, let me know. But, what if… you could have the both of us?"

Elowen stared at him. She was so taken aback that she started looking around for a hidden camera. Someone was going to jump out and yell, 'Gotcha!', right? When she realized he was serious, it felt as if her feet were pulled out from underneath her. Stefan took her reaction as a negative one and started shaking his head.

"Look, just forget I said anything-"

"No, no, pause. Let me try to process this."

"So… you're considering it?"

Elowen nodded uncertainly after a moment. "... Yeah. I think I am."

**xxxx**

Josiah had Esmeralda drop him off at the hospital. She asked if he was planning on going to the carnival with Elowen, but he had shook his head and told her probably not. He'd rather stay here with Caroline.

"Your mom said you're not eating," he said as he entered her room. He was carrying a tray of food he'd gotten from the cafeteria for her. Liz was leaving when he arrived and asked him to try and get her to eat; she thought he might have better luck. Caroline wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"It's gross."

The mere thought of food made her stomach lurch. She still wasn't sure what was going on with her. The blood cravings, the sun suddenly burning her and her abrupt loss of appetite for regular food. In the back of her head, she had a feeling she already knew what was happening. She was just too scared to ask Josiah about it. What if he didn't like her anymore?

"It's hospital food. It's supposed to be gross." Josiah set the tray on the table next to her bed. He picked up the plastic cup of jello and a spoon. "Just take one bite. For me," he quickly added at the sight of her sneer. It turned into a pout at his words.

"That's not fair!" She whined. "You know I can't say no to that."

Josiah grinned mischievously. "That's the point."

Caroline huffed, but snatched the jello out of his hands and opened her other palm expectantly. Josiah handed her the spoon in triumph. With some detest, she scooped up a small amount of the jello and brought it to her mouth. Just the smell itself was enough to make her want to gag. She forced herself to eat what was on the spoon, but the second it touched her tongue, she spat the jello back out onto her hand. It tasted absolutely repulsive.

"I can't." She shook her head and dumped the food into the small trash can that was nearby. "It's sickening."

Josiah leaned forward and placed the back of his hand on her forehead in worry. "You don't feel warm. Do you have any other symptoms? I can go get the nurse."

"No!" Caroline grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him back. Her lack of knowledge about her newfound strength resulted in Josiah tripping over his feet and falling half on the floor and half on the bed. Caroline covered her mouth with both of her hands. "I'm so sorry!"

Josiah pushed himself off of the bed and dusted off his jeans. "Don't worry about it. No harm done."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, now that you ask, my leg hit the ground pretty hard. How about a kiss to make it better?"

Caroline rolled her eyes, but inched towards him anyway. Josiah moved to meet her halfway, except she stopped just in front of the ray of sunlight that was shining in the room. She leaned back slightly to get away from it.

"What's wrong?" He asked, eyebrows knitted together.

"Nothing," she lied. "It's just…. The light kinda hurts my eyes."

"Well, that's an easy fix." Josiah went around the bed to the side of the room that had no window. Caroline smirked.

"I like the way you think."

Josiah smirked back and put his knee on the bed to lean closer to her. "Me, too."

They met in a long awaited kiss. When they pulled back, Josiah still had his eyes closed. "God, I love you."

His eyes shot open a second later. He sat there, frozen, as Caroline stared back at him. Slowly, a smile creeped onto her face.

"I love you, too."

Josiah started to smile back at her. "Yeah?"

Caroline nodded. "Yeah."

They both leaned back in for another kiss. This was the best thing either of them had heard all day.

**xxxx**

Stefan and Elowen had made their way back to the boarding house to try and talk to Damon. Neither of them really knew what to expect from it all. When they entered the room, he was pouring a blood bad into a glass.

"Care for one?" He asked with his back still turned. He'd heard them pull up minutes ago.

"No, thank you," Stefan declined. "I'm not hungry, I just ate."

"Won't that taste better if you warm it up?" Elowen asked. "I mean, that's like drinking cold tea. It's gross."

"You would be correct, little witch." Damon turned and took a sip from his glass. "I'm just lazy. Unless you're offering up a vein?" He smirked.

She shrugged. "It's not like I haven't done it before."

Damon's smirk faded away. Was she serious? Elowen simply stretched out her wrist in response. His eyes glanced from her to Stefan. He was expecting his brother to protest or put up some sort of fight, but he just stood there with his hands behind his back. Thinking this was some type of test, Damon took another sip and turned away.

"I think the Lockwood's have a family secret. The Gilbert device affected them, but vervain doesn't, so they're not vampires. They're something else."

Elowen had to stop herself from squirming in her spot. She knew why it affected them the second Matt said Tyler had heard it. For his sake and Toby's and Mason's, she didn't want them knowing about the werewolf gene. They would both get worried, overreact and then do something stupid in the name of protecting her. That was the last thing she wanted.

"Is this your new obsession?" She heard Stefan ask. Damon smirked again and pointed at him.

"So, you'd rather have some unknown supernatural element running rampant upon our town? Fine, I'll drop it."

"Considering you're shifting gears, I think it's safe to say that it had something to do with Katherine, right?"

Elowen looked at Stefan with wide eyes. What was he doing? This isn't what they came to talk about. In fact, this was the exact opposite. She would never be able to direct the conversation in the right direction now that they were talking about Katherine.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, brother. Not everything is about that lying bitch. I get it, you think she's going to make me explode." His eyes met Elowen's in some kind of secret communication. A ghost of a smile crossed his face. "She won't."

Here was her chance. Elowen took a step forward when her phone started to blare loudly. She fished it from her pocket and saw that Josiah was calling. With one last glance at Damon, she answered.

"What's up?"

"Caroline is making me go to the carnival," he explained begrudgingly. "Apparently, I'm supposed to go in her place to make sure everything is going smoothly. She doesn't trust Elena and Bonnie."

Elowen sighed into the phone. "Alright, I'll be there in 15." She hung up and returned her phone to her pocket. "Guess we'll have to walk back to the hospital."

Damon furrowed his eyebrows. "You don't have the car?"

Elowen shook her head. "No. My mom is on a date with Alaric. They went hiking and won't be back till later tonight."

"You've really gotta get a new car."

"No shit, sherlock. Insurance didn't give us enough for a new one. Apparently the model was too old for them to care. For now, we'll just have to work with my mom's."

"Here." Damon picked up his signature leather jacket and pulled his car keys out of the pocket. He tossed them to Elowen. "Take mine. It'll be faster that way."

"... You're trusting me with your precious car?"

Damon shrugged. "It's not like I don't have the money to repair it if you crash. Which I doubt you will. Now, you should get going. Don't wanna keep Baby Jojo waiting."

**xxxx**

After picking up Josiah, they headed in the direction of the high school. When Elowen pulled into the parking lot, Bonnie was walking past with a boy towards the karaoke booth. She glanced at Elowen, but kept walking. Her, Josiah and Stefan awkwardly walked behind her.

"So, he's letting you drive his car," Bonnie stated from a few feet in front of them. "Sounds like you two are pretty close now." Her voice was tight and short. The boy she was walking with sensed this and pointed in the direction they were going in.

"I'll meet you at the booth, alright?"

When he left, Bonnie turned around. "You're really still friends with him? After everything he's done?"

"I thought we already established that you hate vampires and that you want nothing to do with me anymore," Elowen said hotly.

Bonnie faltered for a moment. "I never said that I wanted nothing to do with you," she said quietly. She glanced at Stefan. "I want what's best for you. And I think that continuously surrounding yourself with both of them will be the death of you."

"We would never let that happen," Stefan cut in with resolute.

"'We'," Bonnie repeated. "Right. Let me know when you decide to make the right decision."

She left to meet up with the boy from earlier and left Stefan, Josiah and Elowen on their own.

About 20 minutes later, Josiah had separated from the group to go scope out the rest of the carnival and send updates to Caroline. Elowen and Stefan had decided to go around and take a look as well. She talked Stefan into playing the dart game with her and while he purposefully hit two out of four darts to let her win, they still had fun. Elowen left with a big, level 1 prize, which was a stuffed purple dragon that seemed to be a knockoff Spyro. Stefan ended up with a level 2. His stuffed lion was much smaller, but he didn't sweat it.

They both decided to check out what was going on inside the school. There were a few other games and booths set up around the cafeteria, but none that appeared to be worth their time. Eventually, they found an arm wrestling booth. Tyler looked as if he were the one currently championing the game.

Elowen spotted Damon watching a few feet away and somehow wasn't surprised that he followed them there. They approached him.

"I didn't strike you two as the type to fall for the unnecessarily expensive carnival games," he remarked without taking his eyes off Tyler. Elowen scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"You're such a downer." She gestured between him and Stefan. "Did you two body swap or something?"

"Ha, ha," Damon mockingly laughed. "This isn't exactly my idea of fun."

"Then why are you here?"

He finally looked down at Elowen as if the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. She knew this already, but she wanted him to acknowledge it. She might've been using his feelings for her as an advantage to make him _feel_ more. To make him more and more aware that they were there. She was hoping that it was working.

"He's lurking," Stefan commented, nodded his head in the direction of Tyler. "I thought you said you were gonna drop it."

"First of all, I'm observing-"

"More like obsessing."

Damon narrowed his eyes at his brother in annoyance. Stefan cracked an amused grin. "Second of all, I came here looking for you two, but I got bored looking. I just happened to be here when I gave up."

"Uh-huh," Stefan drawled. "Right."

Damon shook his head and turned his attention back to Tyler. He had easily beat another competitor and another person sat across from him. He defeated them just as quickly as the last.

"He's got strength," he mentioned casually.

"He's a triple letter varsity athlete, of course he has strength." Stefan immediately shot down the implication. This was absolutely ridiculous. "You're reaching."

Toby arrived and took the empty seat across from Tyler. "I bet I can take you."

"It's on."

"Enter the cousin," Damon droned. Stefan rolled his eyes, but watched on anyway. Tyler and Toby both put up a good effort, but it soon became apparent that Toby had the upper hand. Slowly, Tyler's hand dipped farther and farther in Toby's direction, before finally losing. Tyler got up and rubbed at his wrist.

"Okay, he's the champ. Who wants to go next?"

"Stefan wants to go!" Damon called out. Both him and Elowen glanced at him, dumbfounded. Stefan collected his bearings faster than her and started making his way towards the table. Of course, after handing Elowen his stuffed lion.

"Uh, yeah, sure. I'll give it a shot." He took the seat across from Toby and they got their arms in position. "My brother thinks I can beat you."

Toby took a peek at Damon and smirked cockily. "Your brother's wrong."

They started to wrestle and immediately, both of their arms started to strain against one another. Toby's arm sank slightly for a brief moment, though he was able to bring it back up. While he probably could've won with a bit more work, Stefan allowed Toby to win after a few more seconds of struggling.

"You almost gave me a run for my money," Toby told Stefan as he got up. "Nice job, man."

"Thanks."

Stefan walked back to Elowen and Damon, holding his wrist. That Toby kid put up way more of a fight than he was expecting.

"Oh, c'mon. You could've put in way more effort than that. You barely tried!"

"I'm sorry," Elowen cut in. "Did we watch two different matches?"

"She's right, Damon. I put up a good fight out there." Stefan took a glimpse back at Toby, who had just won another round. He shook his head. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think you're right. Something is up with the Lockwood's."


	4. Chapter 4

Damon dragged Stefan off to a corner and told Elowen to stay. She rolled her eyes but stayed. She figured he was just going to hound him with questions and didn't want her butting in like she usually did. She watched Toby beat every single challenger with so much ease that she felt herself wanting to throw him off. Everyone so far had just been some insecure teenage boys who felt the need to show off, but no girls had been up to the plate. She found herself setting the stuffed animals off to the side and taking a seat across from him. Toby raised his eyebrows at her in mild surprise.

"I'll have a go."

"You sure about that?"

"Try me."

Toby shrugged, but readied his arm anyway. They both started wrestling, though it was obvious Toby was holding back for her sake. Elowen dared him to not go easy on her with a raise of her eyebrow and a tilt of her head. Toby slowly smirked and did the exact opposite. He let his hand gradually fall more and more in her direction until she'd won the round. Elowen widened her eyes in shock as he stood up.

"Alright, everyone! She's the campion now!" He declared loudly. She watched helplessly as he walked away.

"Toby! Toby, get back here!" Toby winked at her with the click of his tongue and continued to walk away. "Don't you dare! Toby!"

"I doubt you really beat him," said yet another arrogant, toxic masculinity filled jock. He took a seat across from her. "He probably just let you win because he wanted in your pants."

Any worry Elowen had about being in the throne vanished. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, doll. Not that I blame him. I'd tap that, too."

"What did you just say?" Stefan came up behind her, having finished up with Damon when he heard the topic of the conversation. "I suggest you apologize to her, right now."

Elowen put a hand on Stefan's forearm. "I've got this." Stefan looked down at her, ready to interject until she smirked up at him knowingly. He seemed to understand the hint, because he nodded and took a step back. She placed her elbow on the table and started the match.

The jock, confident that he would win, put in little effort. Perhaps his plan was to make her think she could beat him, and then take her off guard last second. Thankfully for her, this worked out well. With a quick whisper of, "Movimiento," the jock's arm slammed hard onto the table with a loud whack. The crowd around them all ooh-ed as they felt the pain that must've brought on. The jock twisted his face and cradled his wrist.

Elowen crossed her arms. "You were saying?"

The jock scowled and left the table. Mason pushed his way through and took a seat a moment later.

"I'm here to bail you out. Thank me later," he muttered. "Oh, and don't make it too obvious."

They both had decided to make it a quick match. It started out with Elowen taking the lead. She'd pushed Mason's hand over to her side, to the point that it almost touched the table. He let it hover for a second before using his strength to pull her arm to the other direction. It made contact with his side of the table and ended the match.

"Thank you," she said gratefully as she started to stand. "But, that's not gonna stop me from murdering your son."

Mason laughed. "Go right ahead. He's a pain in the ass anyway."

Elowen found Toby standing where she'd left the stuffed animals. He was holding onto her purple dragon. When he saw her coming towards him, he started moving the dragon's arms and spoke in an exaggerated low voice.

"Aww, did someone lose the game?"

Elowen reached him, snatched the dragon out of his hands and started to hit him with it repeatedly. "You little conniving, stuck up, jerky little shit!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Toby yelled in protest. He grabbed the dragon back to stop her attacks and put it out of her reach. "What was that for?"

Elowen stared at him in disbelief. "What was that for?" She reiterated. "You let me win on purpose to leave to fend for myself. You know I'm terrible at arm wrestling!"

"I know." Toby grinned. "Why do you think I did it?"

Elowen glared at him and picked up the stuffed lion. She drew her hand back as Toby tried to shield himself with the dragon, but Stefan grabbed onto her shoulder.

"Alright, alright. That's enough fighting, kids. We have more important stuff to do."

"Like what?"

Stefan glanced at Toby. He was unaware the younger boy knew about the supernatural world, let alone that he was apart of it, so he tried to play it cool.

"We are gonna ride the ferris wheel and when we get to the top, we're going to kiss under the stars."

Toby's face scrunched up. "Ew. Don't say that in front of me."

Elowen scoffed. "Don't act like we didn't do something similar when we dated."

"Yeah, but it was a carousel instead and we tried to lean over our horses. Except, we never actually kissed because your dumbass forgot to buckle in properly and slipped off."

Elowen gaped at him in offense and hit him with the stuffed animal again. "That really hurt, by the way! I still have a scar on my chin from where I hit the metal grate."

Stefan watched the two with amusement. The argument was obviously playful, but he had to admit Toby's jabs and antics were pretty funny. He decided he liked him. Stefan sighed and took the dragon from Toby's grip.

"I think I should get her out of here before your cause of death is by stuffed lion."

"Good idea."

Elowen was in the middle of rolling her eyes as Stefan dragged her way. They next time she saw Toby, she would definitely fight him.

**xxxx**

Many things happened within the next few minutes. Damon ran into Caroline in the empty hallways and discovered she was a newly transitioned vampire. She said Katherine had a message for him.

"Game on."

Afterward, she went to find Josiah, who was playing the ring toss with Jeremy. She bailed quickly after breaking a few tops clear off the bottles. Josiah lost her in the crowd as fast as she ran. For the first time that day, he finally realized how off her behavior had been.

He thought it had been apart of her recovery, but now that he thought about it, it was so glaringly obvious that he was upset with himself. Unable to eat regular food, sensitivity to sunlight and now, abnormal strength. He had no idea how this happened and rushed to find Elowen. He ran into Damon at some point.

"Damon," he breathed. "I think Caroline's a-"

"Vampire? Yeah. We need to find your sister. Now."

At the same time, while Elowen was off getting something to eat, Stefan carefully trailed behind Tyler into the parking lot. Sure enough, the kid Damon had compelled earlier approached him from the opposite side and harshly bumped into Tyler's shoulder.

"Watch where you're going," Tyler remarked when he looked up from his phone.

"You got a problem?" The boy retorted.

"Yeah, you walked right into me."

"What are you gonna do about it?"

"You're kidding, right?"

Except, he wasn't kidding. He pushed Tyler back a few times before punching him in the face. Naturally, they started fighting. They struggled for a minute until both Toby and Mason showed up.

"Hey! Tyler, what the hell man?!" Mason exclaimed as he pulled Tyler away from the fight. Toby had grabbed the other boy and pushed him away. He held him back, but due to the compulsion, he decked Toby in the face twice before pushing him against a car. As the car alarm went off, Tyler rushed back over. The boy easily grabbed him and threw him to the ground.

Toby jumped back over the car with his hands and feet and soared into the air, flying over the instigator and stuck the landing. His eyes shone a light amber color from using his werewolf powers. Tyler saw this and widened his own.

"Your eyes!"

Toby pulled Tyler onto his feet and urged him backward. Before the boy could follow, Mason backhanded him with his super strength hard enough to knock him to the ground. Once he was down, Mason grabbed both Toby and Tyler and ushered them away from the scene.

A few feet away, Elowen was sitting at a bench eating a funnel cake while she waited for Stefan. He said that he would be right back and she assumed he was off looking for Damon. However, said vampire and her brother came running up to them soon after. They were both out of breath.

"Wen, you need to come with us right now." She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but Damon beat her to the punch. "Questions later, mission now. Let's go." He grabbed onto her shoulder and pulled her onto her feet. She tried to protest and barely managed to grab her food. Unfortunately, the stuffed animals had gotten left behind.

Her, Damon and Josiah were all huddled in an empty classroom while they waited for Stefan. Damon was refusing to tell her what was going on until "boy wonder showed up". The second the door closed behind his brother, Damon spilled the beans.

"Caroline is a vampire."

Elowen froze in her spot while Stefan became extra alert. She stared at the ground in disbelief as Stefan took the assertive role.

"How did this happen?"

"Well, I fed her blood and Katherine obviously killed her and A plus B equals…." Damon trailed off.

"Now is not the time to be a sarcastic asshole right now!" Elowen burst. Everyone else in the room stopped and stared. She grabbed at her hair and started pacing around the room. "How did I not see this coming? What's the point in this stupid power if I can't predict useful things?"

One thing Elowen knew was safe to say: she hated how emotional she was when she got bad news like this. She was never not crying or feeling bad for herself or trying to be pushy in these types of situations in an attempt to not be the same fragile little girl who always hid and ran away. Her breathing had picked up and it became apparent that she was having an anxiety attack. Stefan tried to reach for her, but she recoiled back.

"Don't touch me," she ordered, shrinking back into a corner. Damon and Stefan didn't know what to do and were at a loss. This time was different. Josiah, being the only one in the room who knew how to handle her when she was like this, took a few tentative steps forward.

"Ellie? Ellie, look at me," he coaxed gently. "Ellie belly, jelly bean, come on."

Hearing such an old, nostalgic nickname that Josiah hadn't used since grade school caused her to flicker her eyes up. He took a few more steps towards her now that her attention was on him.

"I know you. You always feel like it's your fault when you don't foresee something. And every time, I've got to come and rescue you. Because we balance each other out. I'm the rash, blinded by anger, impulsive little brother, and you're the practical, brutally honest, realistic big sister who knows when to take a step back to look at the bigger picture. And mom is the strong, calm and collected adult who helps us feel grounded. Without all the pieces of the puzzle, we'd be a mess, right?"

It took her a moment, but Elowen eventually nodded. She was still hyperventilating and both Stefan and Damon could hear her rapid heartbeat. Since Josiah started talking, it had gone down slightly, but she was still experiencing an attack.

"And we need you to come back to earth because without you, we'd be missing a piece." Josiah stopped just in front of her. "If anything, you're the most important one. Without you, we'd be running in blind. So, I've got a really big favor to ask of you. I need you to breathe."

Elowen shook her head. "I can't."

"Yes, you can. This feeling is only temporary, you know that. This will all work out in the end, but we really need you for that to happen. We all need you to breathe. Watch me."

Josiah started to take slow, deep breaths to demonstrate for her. Elowen tried following along, but instead of it being slow, her breaths were short, harsh and fast. Josiah continued his breathing and glanced at Stefan and Damon in the corner of his eye. He made a motion with his hand to follow along. At first, only Damon seemed to get the memo. He, too, started to take steady breaths. He was standing a little ways behind Stefan and moved closer so she could see him better. Stefan picked up on it just after Damon had.

Seeing three different people she cared about trying to show her how to breathe right made her focus harder on taking deep breaths. After a few moments, Elowen's breathing steadied, as well as her heart rate.

"Thank you," Elowen said gratefully when she finally returned to normal. "What's our game plan?"

"We've got to find her," Stefan replied. "Caroline must be completely out of her mind. She has to know what's happening, or have an idea. I mean, you guys explained the dangers of ingesting vampire blood, right?"

Josiah nodded his head. "Yeah, when she first woke up. I just don't understand why she didn't tell me."

"Maybe she was scared?" Elowen offered.

"Of what, though?"

"She's Caroline. She's always been an overreacter and a worrier. Now that's heightened. She probably thought you'd hate her as a vampire."

"I could never hate her."

"Then we need to split up and find her so you can say it to her face."

**xxxx**

Josiah insisted on searching for Caroline on his own. Elowen wasn't too keen on the idea; she'd prefer that they split into groups and go together. He left before she could talk him into it. Instead, she went with Stefan and Damon went off on his own as well.

Her and Stefan walked around the more crowded areas of the carnival. Josiah said something about wanting to scope the more deserted areas and Damon was probably doing his own thing. They'd looked by the food stands (Elowen looked for the stuffed animals on the down low, but couldn't see them), games, rides and restrooms. She wasn't in any of those places. Suddenly, Stefan turned around and faced a certain direction.

"What?" Elowen asked. She turned to look, hoping that maybe he'd spotted Caroline, but she saw nothing. "Stefan, what is it?"

"Blood," he responded. "I can smell blood."

Elowen's face blanched as her and Stefan stared at one another. Quickly, they headed in that direction.

Naturally, Damon had found Caroline first. She was behind the school, sobbing next to a dead body. Damon vaguely recognized him as the kid he compelled from earlier. Paying no attention to that fact, he came to stand in front of her. She had blood smeared all over her face and red tears that had mixed with the blood streaking down her cheeks.

"He's dead. I killed him," Caroline said guiltily. "What's wrong with me? Am I like you now?"

Damon nodded his head. "Yeah, you are, blondie. Let's get you somewhere safe, okay? Elowen would kill me, literally, if I didn't help you." He carefully helped her off of the bed of the truck she was sitting on and got her on her feet. He heard footsteps running towards him and a second later, Josiah's voice rang out.

"Caroline!" He stopped short when he saw the body on the truck. Caroline cried harder when she saw his reaction.

"Don't look at me!" She turned away and tried to hide her face. "You hate me now. I can see it in your face."

"I don't hate you."

"Yes, you do! Stay away from me."

"Caroline," Josiah said with a commanding voice. It was enough for her to look at him from behind her hair. "I _love_ you, remember? I will never, ever hate you. That's an emotion reserved for my dad, alright? Never for you."

"Really?" Caroline asked meekly. Josiah nodded his head. She sniffed and walked over to hug him tightly. Josiah hugged her back. Elowen and Stefan arrived on the scene and saw the boy sprawled out on the truck, limp. Elowen abruptly stopped while Stefan moved closer to everyone else. Flashbacks of the night Tanner died crossed her mind, but she had to will herself not to think about it. Right now, they needed to help Caroline.

"We need to get you cleaned up, okay?" Elowen gently suggested. Caroline nodded her head. Her and Stefan took her by her arms and started leading towards the school restroom, but for some reason, Bonnie showed up out of nowhere.

"Caroline?" She questioned in worry when she saw the blood on her face. She spotted the body on the truck and felt her blood run cold. "Oh my god!" With wide eyes, Bonnie took hold of Caroline's wrist and hoped she was wrong. She wasn't.

For Caroline's sake, Elowen continued to lead her to the bathrooms to get her out of there. Caroline burst through the door when they reached their destination.

"She hates me!" She cried. "Bonnie hates me."

Elowen knew exactly how she felt. She tried to search for the words to comfort her, tell her Bonnie could never hate her, but once upon a time, Elowen thought the same thing. Factoring in that Bonnie made it known she hated vampires…..

"No, no," Stefan reassured, bringing Elowen back to the situation at hand. "She's just in shock. We all are."

While her and Stefan talked, Elowen had grabbed a handful of paper towels, wet them, and started wiping the blood off of her face.

Meanwhile, back outside, Bonnie and Josiah hadn't moved from their spots. Josiah desperately wanted to follow Caroline to the bathroom, but he didn't want to overwhelm her.

"I can't believe this is happening…" He heard Bonnie mumble to herself. He glanced at her, but was unable to respond as Damon returned with a shovel in order to bury the body.

"Come on, don't pout about it." He rolled his eyes. "I've got a body to bury."

"So, that's it?" Bonnie questioned. "You're just gonna dispose of him like he's nothing?"

"Uhhh, yeah," Damon replied obviously. "Wen cares about Miss Barbie and if this gets out, she'll be hunted by the council. Besides, he _is _a nobody. I don't even know who he is."

"His name is Carter," Bonnie bit out.

"Was," Damon corrected. "As in past tense."

He started towards the truck, but abruptly dropped the shovel and fell to the ground. He clutched his head in pain and curled into a ball. Josiah rushed over to check on him, realized what was happening and looked at Bonnie.

"Bonnie, stop!" He got up and turned to her.

"I told you what would happen if anyone else got hurt," she said darkly to Damon.

"I didn't do this," Damon choked out hoarsely.

"It wasn't his fault," Josiah agreed. "It was Katherine's."

Bonnie ignored their words instead. "Everything that happens is his fault." Behind her, the faucet to the hose turned on and the water created a trail towards Damon. Josiah eyed it anxiously.

"Bonnie, what are you doing?"

Bonnie ignored him and turned the water into a line of fire. Josiah's eyes widened and quickly used his powers to move the direction away from Damon. Bonnie fought back and the fire went in zig zags, creating a semi circle around Damon. In order to get Josiah out of the way, she threw him against the truck with telekinesis and held him there. The fire immediately turned direction and climbed up Damon's leg. He did his best to crawl away from it, but to no avail.

"Bonnie! Stop it, you're going to kill him!" Josiah shouted. He couldn't believe he was trying to save Damon's life, but he knew Elowen cared about him. That was enough of a reason for him. "Elowen!" He screamed as he struggled against the truck. "Elowen, help!"

Caroline, Stefan and Elowen all heard the ruckus from the bathroom. Elowen ran out into the halls the second she heard her brother's calls. She broke through the doors and saw what was happening. Acting quickly, she dashed towards Bonnie and practically tackled her to the ground to break her concentration. Instantaneously, the fire died out and Josiah crashed down as his hold was released.

"Why did you stop me?!" Bonnie yelled as she crept out from under Elowen.

"Because, Bonnie, this isn't you! I will not let you stoop down to being a murderer. We might still be on the outs, but I still care enough to stop you from making a mistake. You're better than this."

Bonnie glowered at her, got up and left.

**xxxx**

Much, much later, after Stefan had gotten Caroline to calm down, after Damon buried the body, after the carnival ended, everyone stood in the parking lot. Damon had said he was heading back to the boarding house after collecting his keys from Elowen, so it was only her, Stefan, Josiah and Caroline. They were waiting for Esmeralda to come pick them up. They all wanted to see Caroline home safely.

They didn't wait very long for Esmeralda to show up. In fact, she was there soon after they'd texted her. She sped through the lot as if she were in the middle of a police chase and stopped in front of them without warning. The tires squealed against the asphalt and the whole car jerked forward from the force. Everyone looked at each other warily as she rushed out of the vehicle. She was out of breath when she reached him.

"Gee mom, where's the fire?" Josiah tried to joke, but it was apparent this wasn't the time.

"Luis is dead."

Josiah and Elowen stared at her in complete disbelief. Nobody seemed to notice the tears building up in Caroline's eyes.

"The hospital just called me," she explained. "They said his breathing machine malfunctioned and he died of asphyxiation."

Silence.

Josiah and Elowen hated him. They knew they did. But somehow, they both found themselves mourning for him. They felt absolutely disgusted about it. How could they be sad that the man who made their lives hell passed away?

Caroline sobbed loudly from behind him. "I'm sorry!" She apologized loudly. "It's just, I know what he did to you guys and I felt so… _angry_ and I wanted to hurt him so badly."

"Caroline…" Stefan started as calmly as he could. "What are you trying to say?"

"I snuck into his room before I left the hospital and jimmied the machine," she confessed. "I killed him. It's my fault."

"Hey, hey," Stefan quietly comforted. "Your emotions are heightened. You don't know how to handle it yet." He turned to the others. "I better take her home by myself. I'll take care of her," he added when he saw Josiah about to protest. He backed down and watched as Stefan and Caroline left.

Esmeralda, Josiah and Elowen stood in the parking lot in complete silence as they all still tried to process everything.

This was a good thing… right?

**xxxx**

Elowen had convinced Esmeralda to drop her off at the boarding house. It had taken a lot of persuading, but after saying that she needed a different type of comfort that family couldn't give her, Esmeralda had given in. That was how Elowen found herself curled up in front of the fireplace. Getting it going was the first thing she'd done. Damon and Stefan didn't get cold at the same pace she did, so it had been freezing when she entered the home.

Stefan wasn't back from Caroline's yet and Damon was who knows where. What she did know was that neither of them were there. In the end, it worked out. After everything that went down tonight, she needed a breather to herself.

She was staring at the flames dancing around in front of her when Damon found her. She seemed to be in a trace, mesmerized by the blazing fire. Damon sighed as he took in the state she was in. She'd changed into some of Stefan's clothes; a pair of boxers and a very baggy t-shirt and with the shadows cast over her face, she looked like she'd aged at least two decades. There were bags under her eyes and she appeared to be so…. Tired. It was a huge difference compared to earlier that evening. She was so disheveled now.

Damon, as carefully and quietly as he could, as to not startle her, crept towards the chair she was situated in. He studied her for another long moment before reaching out to touch her shoulder. She still jerked a bit at the sudden touch, but relaxed when she was it was just him. Elowen turned her gaze back to the fire without a word. Damon waited patiently for her to say something.

"My dad is dead."

Damon's eyebrows lifted in surprise at the very sudden and unexpected news. He didn't say anything back, though. He knew she wouldn't appreciate any of his satirical comments right now.

"Caroline said she broke his breathing machine," she started to explain. "Compelled nearly half of the department so she could get away with it. Guess she learned that trick real quick."

Well, Damon thought, at least Vampire Barbie did one thing right in her newbie frenzy. He was almost jealous she'd beat him to it.

"That night, you said that you felt more than just sexual attraction for me."

This definitely wasn't the direction Damon was expecting the conversation go. He was actually a bit wary. Why was she suddenly bringing this up now? Elowen looked back up at him.

"Prove it."

Damon blinked, dumbfounded. Elowen pulled herself out of her chair and stood in front of Damon. She placed a cold hand to his face and stroked her thumb across his cheek.

"Please," she whispered.

"I thought you said it wouldn't work out," Damon mumbled back. He caressed her hair as he stared back in her eyes. For once, he was telling himself that he couldn't be selfish with her. That she was Stefan's girl; he should back off. He _would_ back off. Which is why he found himself pushing Elowen away when she leaned forward.

"I refuse to put Stefan through this again," he explained at the sight of her lost face. "You're too good for me."

Elowen started to shake her head. "Just this once. I need to know." She leaned in and closed the gap before he could say anything else. Damon, on instinct, immediately reciprocated. His other hand came down to grip her waist as he kissed her intensely.

This time, Elowen could feel it. There was no sexual desire or a heated craving. Just overflowing passionate care, fondness and, most importantly, love. It was as if Damon was pouring everything into this kiss. After all, he thought this was some sort of goodbye and decided that if this was his last chance to hold her like this, he might as well make the best of it.

They kissed each other deeply for a few moments and Damon was surprised to sense a strong feeling of affection from her. She loved Stefan. He knew that. But he never expected for her to see him as anything other than a friend. Without warning, he pushed her back and turned around.

"Stefan," he said breathlessly. They had been caught and he actually found himself feeling guilty. He cast a glance at Elowen and backed away from her. If Stefan was going to come at him in any way, he didn't want her getting hurt. Instead, Stefan calmly walked towards them as if nothing was wrong. Damon furrowed his eyebrows. What was going on here?

Stefan stopped in front of Damon. He looked from him to Elowen, then back to him. There was a long lapse of silence that drove Damon insane. Would someone just say something?!

Finally, Stefan opened his mouth. "Elowen and I have decided not to let history repeat itself. Katherine ruined us, our bond, our lives. She played us both and the only reason we were okay with it was because she compelled us."

Damon kept looking between Stefan and Elowen. Seriously, what the hell was happening?

"What exactly are you trying to say, brother?"

"We both get the girl, Damon."

Damon stared at his brother, his face blank as he tried to process this. He still wasn't 100% sure he'd heard Stefan right.

"Choosing is boring, too traditional, too old school," Elowen quietly spoke up. Damon turned his head to look at her instead. She shrugged. "This time will be different."

Slowly, a faint smile started to form on Damon's face. "You're right. Choosing _is_ boring."

"We're gonna make this up as we go," Stefan addressed the obvious question. "But, there will be no foul play. No fighting, nothing to make this even remotely like what happened with Katherine."

"Agreed," Damon declared. "You call the shots, little witch."

Elowen gave them both a watery smile and sniffled a little. "I'm so glad this worked out okay." Her voice wavered and cracked as she tried to blink back tears. "Because I really need you both right now."

Stefan and Damon both walked across the room and enveloped her in one big hug. Elowen started to weep silently into their shoulders. She hated that she was shedding tears over her father, but here she was.

Stefan and Damon stayed to comfort her until she fell asleep.

**xxxx**

**Author's Note**: So! I just want to quickly address the threesome relationship that's going on. I've never seen any stories do something like this, unless I just wasn't looking hard enough, and it's a concept I've been dying to see. Something that always bothered me was towards the end of season 3, when Elena said that loving both Stefan and Damon was selfish and wrong and that she absolutely HAD to make a choice as if there weren't two other options: both of them or neither of them, but ofc the show was so centered around the love triangle that nothing else was ever discussed. I've always personally hated the love triangle trope and believe that there's nothing wrong with loving more than one person at once. It happens sometimes and you can't control your emotions. Anyway, I've already seen some positive reactions in the reviews and that makes me happy! Hope you guys liked this chapter :)


	5. Chapter 5

Elowen woke up snuggled between both Stefan and Damon the next morning. Stefan had one arm resting underneath his head, with his other arm wrapped around her shoulders. Her own head was nestled comfortably between his bicep and shoulder. Damon, on the other hand, had his arm sprawled lazily across her waist. Instead of laying on his back like Stefan, he laid on his side with his face buried in her mess of curls. She could feel his breath hitting the back of her neck. It tickled a little, but not enough to make her laugh.

The second she made movement that signaled she was awake, both brothers' opened their eyes to check on her. Elowen looked between the two of them through sleepy, hooded eyes.

"That's a little creepy," she pointed out hoarsely. She started to sit up, which prompted Damon and Stefan to start untangling their jumble of limbs from each other and from the bedsheets. She realized they weren't in Stefan's room after she rubbed the morning gunk from her eyes.

"I have the bigger bed," Damon explained as she looked around the room in curiosity.

"Oh."

With another scan of the room, she started to climb off of the bed. Stefan helped her to her feet. It was obvious she was drained from last night's events. Not just from the dark circles under her eyes or the exhaustion written on her face, but from the overall way she held herself. He pushed some of her hair back behind her ears.

"How about you go and take a shower, alright? We'll find you something to wear."

Elowen nodded her head tiredly. "Okay."

Damon had already entered the bathroom and turned the shower on. He was adjusting the temperature of the water when Elowen trailed in behind him.

"Stefan's looking for something that will fit."

Damon nodded his head absentmindedly. When he deemed the water warm enough, he turned around, but found Elowen already removing her shirt. He immediately looked away. However, instead of hearing clothes falling to the ground, he heard a frustrated whine. He tossed a quick glance her way and saw that she was stuck inside the shirt. It was halfway off, with her arms sticking out of the holes and her hair caught on the inner part of the neckline. He walked over and helped untwist the fabric from around her arms. Once those were free, he did his best to disentangle her curls from the fibers. With minimal grunts of pain from Elowen, Damon managed to finally get the shirt off of her.

"I'm so out of it that I can't even do something as simple as take a shirt off," she mumbled disdainfully. She balled up the article of clothing and threw it to the ground with some harshness to it.

"Hey, don't be like that," Damon said with some optimism. "You're just tired, is all. Come on, you'll feel better under the water."

**xxxx**

In the end, Stefan couldn't find anything that was period appropriate or didn't need to be thoroughly washed. He did, however, find a pair of pj pants that fit her. She wore those and one of Damon's shirts. She'd brushed her hair and threw it up in a messy ponytail. Some hair immediately came loose and hung in front of her face, but she didn't really care.

Stefan, knowing she didn't like coffee, fished out a tea bag from the back of their pantry and warmed up some water on the stove.

Back in the living room, Damon and Elowen sat on the couch, huddled together.

"I know supernatural talk is probably the last thing you want to hear about," Damon started. "But your old friend Toby and his dad Mason exhibited some…. Inhuman behavior at the carnival last night."

Elowen tensed a little at the sound of this. Him and Stefan were getting too close to figuring it out. Considering wolves were almost extinct because of vampires, she was scared about what they would do if they found out. Damon looked down at her, curious at her reaction. She knew something that she wasn't sharing.

"... I was wondering if you could call our lovely friend, Alaric," he continued, "and see if he knew anything about it. His wife was occult obsessed, after all."

"Um, yeah." Elowen cleared her throat. "I can see if he can swing by."

20 minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Elowen was still coiled up on the couch, but now held a cup of earl gray in her hands. Damon got up to answer the door while Stefan stayed with her.

"Thanks for coming, Ric," Damon greeted. "Can I get you something to drink? Coffee? Bourbon? Bourbon in your coffee?"

Alaric ignored him and went straight to the point. "Elowen mentioned you needed my help." He walked over to her and squatted in front of her as he waited for an answer. "Hey," he said quietly. "How are you holding up?"

He knew what had gone down last night. He'd gotten a call from Esmeralda in a fit of hysteria late in the night, asking him to come over. Needless to say, he had stayed the night in order to keep her and Josiah company.

Elowen gave a weak shrug. "As well as I can."

Damon and Stefan let them finish talking before either of them said anything.

"We were hoping you could help shed some light on the Lockwood family," Stefan finally replied. Alaric tilted his head and stood back up.

"Why would I know anything about the Lockwoods'?"

"Well," Damon drew out. "You wouldn't. But your dead, not-dead vampire wife might."

Elowen stayed quiet from her place on the couch. Damon noticed this from the corner of his eyes, but still didn't question her about it.

"Isobel's research here in Mystic Falls rooted in folklore and legends, but at the time I thought much of which was fiction," Alaric said.

"Like that amazing vampire story." Damon smirked sarcastically. Elowen rolled her eyes and lightly kicked him in the thigh.

"Aside from vampires, what else?" Stefan asked.

"The lycanthrope," Alaric replied. Elowen felt her heart jump out of her chest. No, no, no. Both Stefan and Damon shot her a worried glance, but she shook her head and took a sip of her tea.

"So, you're saying…. Werewolves?" Stefan questioned without taking his eyes off of Elowen.

"No way," Damon denied. "Impossible. _Way_ too Lon Chaney."

"Says the vampire sitting next to a witch," Elowen mumbled.

"I've been on this planet for 160 some odd years and I've never come across one. If werewolves exist, where the hell are they?" Damon challenged. He was hoping to maybe get Elowen to spill something, but it didn't seem to work.

"Why do you suspect the Lockwoods'?" Alaric looked between Damon and Elowen and sensed some type of tension, so he changed the subject.

"Vervain didn't affect the mayor on Founders' Day, but the Gilbert device did," Damon offered as an explanation. "It affected his son, Tyler, too."

"And at the school carnival, both his uncle Mason and his cousin Toby exhibited supernatural behavior when they fought with one of the carnival's workers. They also have strength that definitely isn't human," Stefan added. "It all points to some sort of supernatural entity."

"They were hoping that Isobel's research could help them figure out what it is," Elowen stated. They all noticed how she said 'they' and not 'we'. Finally, Damon looked away from Elowen.

"So, can we get access to it? We need to know what we're dealing with. If this wolfman thing is true, I've seen enough movies to know it's not good. It means Mason Lockwood is a real life Lon Chaney and his son is Lon Chaney Jr. And that Tyler punk might be apart of their little pack. Meaning that Bella Lugosi, meaning me, is totally screwed."

**xxxx**

Alaric made a call to make sure it was okay if he came. Elowen suggested that Elena go with them. It did involve her birth mother, after all. She agreed and Elowen was grateful she did. She had a feeling Damon would've had her go with to try and get her to crack and she didn't want to deal with that.

Instead, after Damon, Elena and Alaric had left, Elowen went with Stefan to Caroline's house. She'd swung by her house for a fresh pair of clothes and for Esperanza's grimoire. Josiah was already there keeping her company. Esmeralda had some lapis lazuli stashed away for altar/spell purposes and replaced the vervain in her old necklace with it. Knowing that last time it burned her when it touched her, Caroline slowly reached over and picked it up. When nothing bad happened, her fingers lightly brushed against the stone.

"Kinda sucks I don't get to choose what jewelry I have to wear for the rest of my life, but I guess I'm okay with this."

"You better be," Josiah quipped. Caroline smirked underneath her hair. Elowen rolled her eyes and reached over for the necklace. Caroline placed in her palm.

"So, now what?" She asked. "Are you gonna summon a fairy and do some intricate ceremony?"

Elowen shook her head amusedly. "Not every spell is smoke and fire. This one's pretty simple, so don't get your hopes up." She placed the necklace at the foot of the bed and opened the blinds enough for the sun to shine down on the jewelry, but not enough to touch Caroline. She still scooted farther up the bed anyway.

"I want to make this very clear before I start," Elowen said seriously. "The witch who performs the spell has to power to reverse it. If this ends up being too much for you, you know what will happen."

Caroline nodded her head. "I understand. It's a safety precaution. Doesn't mean I have to like it," she grumbled.

Elowen took a deep breath and closed her eyes. A very ominous atmosphere came over the room as she started to mutter the spell under her breath. Just as suddenly as it started, the feeling went away and the room once again felt lighter. Elowen opened her eyes.

"It's done. Let's test it to see if I did this right."

"Wait, you haven't done this before?" Caroline asked nervously.

"No," Elowen answered honestly. "But, there's a first time for everything, isn't there?" She handed the necklace back to Caroline, who hastily clasped it around her neck. Hesitantly, she inched her hand closer to the stream of light coming through the curtain. She grimaced when the sun finally touched her skin, but when she found that nothing happened, she stuck her hand farther into the warmth and smiled excitedly.

"It worked!"

"'Course it did." Josiah tilted his head over to kiss her and Caroline happily leaned through the sunlight to reach him.

"Alright, that's enough PDA." Stefan stood up from his spot on the chair that was in the room. "It's time for a hunting lesson."

Caroline pouted, but got up from her bed nonetheless. "I'll see you later, Jo."

"Just, please, don't kill Thumper. Go for Bambi instead. He annoyed the shit out of me as a kid."

Caroline cracked a smile as they all headed for the front door. "I'll do my best."

With one last kiss the two parted ways. Elowen and Josiah headed home until further notice.

**xxxx**

"So, hang on. She pulled out a crossbow on you?"

Damon had called Elowen about an hour later to fill her in on their Duke adventures. She was in her room, studying Esperanza's grimoire a bit more closely when she received the call.

"Yup," Damon replied, popping the 'p' at the end. "And I currently have an arrow in my back that Elena won't hurry up and pull out. It hurts like a bitch."

A second later she heard a grunt of pain. Elena must've finally pulled the arrow out. Damon straightened up and shook it off.

"Oh, she is _so_ dead."

"Damon," Elowen said firmly. "You _will not_ kill her. Do you understand me?"

For a moment, all she could hear was his breathing on the other line. Then, at least, she heard him mumble, "Fine."

"Elena and I are about to pay the paranoid grad student a visit. Would you care to attend?"

"Why not? I've got nothing better to do today."

Damon put Elowen on speaker as him and Elena left Isobel's office. Vanessa and Alaric were sitting outside. At the sight of the two, Vanessa started to hurriedly stand up, but Alaric pushed her back into her seat.

"Please! I freaked out, okay?!" Elowen heard her blurt. "Alright, you would have done the same thing. It's not possible! Katherine Pierce can't be alive and Damon Salvatore died in 1864, okay? I read Isobel's research."

"As someone who studies the occult, I'd imagine you'd be a little more open minded than this," Elowen jested.

"Excuse my….. _Girlfriend_," at the mention of this, both Elena and Alaric shot him questioning and confused looks. Damon merely smirked. "She's got a bit of a mouth on her. I would know."

"Ass," Elowen half growled through clenched teeth. Damon smiled smugly. "Wipe that goddamn smirk off your face while you're at it."

Said smirk disappeared immediately. He cleared his throat and glanced at Elena. He nodded his head in the direction of Vanessa.

"I'm Elena Gilbert, Isobel's daughter," she introduced. "And a descendant of Katherine Pierce. This is Damon Salvatore, who you just shot."

"I'd be _extra_ nice to me right now."

"Damon," Elowen scolded from the other line. He sighed loudly through his nose and rolled his eyes. Alaric smirked at this.

"This is like watching a dog owner trying to train their puppy, in which Elowen is the owner and you're the puppy."

"Can it, Ric," Damon shot back with a glare. Elena turned away from the two and faced Vanessa again.

"Look, we really need your help, okay? We need to see all of Isobel's research. Anything related to Mystic Falls."

**xxxx**

"This box checks Katherine's arrival to Mystic Falls in April 1864." Vanessa set a box down on a table in front of Elena.

"Is that all there is about her?" Elena asked.

"All that I'm aware of."

Damon was in the next room over, looking through other boxes of information. He still had Elowen on the phone.

"Anything there about, uh… werewolves?" She asked carefully. She wasn't surprised Damon had still found some sort of way to keep her involved in this field trip. He knew she knew something. Observant little bastard.

"Nope, not yet. Why? Scared we'll discover whatever secret you're hiding?"

"I'm not hiding anything," she denied.

"Well, fyi, you're sure doing a bad job at doing so. You're losing your touch, little witch."

There was a beat of silence before Damon said anything, though not directed at her.

"Nope! Not at all," he called. Another beat. "No, that would be creepy." And again. "Y'know, if you want to see me naked, all you have to do is ask."

"Hey," Elowen said sharply. "That deserves a warning."

"Wha- There are _warnings_ now?"

"As long as you keep that behavior up, yeah, there are warnings."

There was a knock on Elowen's bedroom door. She looked up at the sound and saw Josiah standing in the doorway.

"Hey," he said. "Apparently Tyler is throwing a party at the swimming hole and Caroline wants to go."

"Stefan thinks she's ready for that?" Elowen questioned.

"He says that if she doesn't keep doing normal things, she won't have anything to keep her grounded to her humanity."

Elowen could practically hear the eye roll through the phone. "That's another warning."

"What?! Come on, Wen. That one isn't fair."

She ignored him and turned her attention back to Josiah. "Are you asking if you can go or if I wanted to tag along?"

"Both."

Elowen glanced back down at her phone. If she went, she could get Damon off of her back for awhile. She knew there was a slim chance Stefan would question her and if he did, he would be much more understanding and not as severe as Damon. She would rather deal with that at the moment.

"Sure, why not? I need to do more teenager stuff."

She could hear Damon starting to protest, but she put on a sickeningly sweet voice before he could get a word out.

"I've got to go! I'll talk to you later, Damon. Bye!"

After she hung up, Elowen leaned back in her chair. "I'll grab my swimsuit and then we can bounce."

"Sounds good to me."

**xxxx**

When Elowen and Josiah arrived, Caroline immediately pounced on Josiah and kissed him.

"I did it!" She said enthusiastically when she pulled back. "I mean, it took me a few tries, but I finally caught Thumper and, well, you know the rest."

"That's so good!" Josiah congratulated. "I'm a little upset about Thumper, but I'll get over it. How about we hit the water?"

"I don't have a suit."

"Gotchu covered, Care." Elowen held up an extra that she had brought for her. Caroline smiled and grabbed it.

"Thanks, Elle! I'm gonna go change." She left with Josiah in tow, leaving Elowen and Stefan alone. Mason Lockwood was currently pulled up and talking with Tyler about something, but he was quick and soon left. As he drove by Stefan, he stared at him rather… odd. Stefan stared back until he was gone.

"You're using your serious vampire look again," Elowen piped.

"My wha- My 'serious vampire look'?"

"Mm-hmm." She nodded. She was leaning against her mom's minivan with her arms crossed. She was wearing a blue bikini top with shorts and a pair of flip flops. It was so wild to think about how they were already approaching spring. Time passes fast when you're busy trying to defeat supernatural evil. "I mean, it's different from your worried vampire look. Although, both of them could pass as a grumpy, 'it's Monday' look."

"Okay," he dragged out. "I get it. You think I'm too serious."

"Yup. Can't you just…. Bring human blood Stefan out a bit more? Y'know, without all the self control drama."

Stefan sighed dramatically and pretended to think about it. "I guess," he huffed. "Starting tomorrow." Elowen glowered at him a bit and he threw his hands up. "I don't have swimming trucks! What am I supposed to do, skinny dip?"

Elowen gave him and once over and shrugged. "I don't think anyone would mind."

"Elle," he deadpanned. She giggled and went to open the back of the car. She grabbed something from the seat and poked her head out again. Leaning against the open door, she lifted up a pair of trucks that dangled on her index finger. Stefan shook his head endearingly and snatched them from her.

"You're lucky I love you."

"I know," she boasted. He rolled his eyes, but leaned in to kiss her nevertheless. When he pulled back, Elowen pointed off to the makeshift dressing room that was off to the side. "Now go change."


	6. Chapter 6

_You ever heard of the sun and the moon curse?_

To be honest, Elowen was surprised she even got service all the way out here. Either way, Damon was A) trying to keep her in the loop or B) still fishing for her unshared piece of information.

_No. Is it relevant to your search?_

_Yeah. It's a curse in which werewolves are forced to turn every full moon and vampires are bound to be nightcrawlers. It dates back centuries, so it's gotta mean werewolves really are real. Have anything to comment about that?_

And there it was. Looks like it was option B after all. Sighing loudly, she wrote out a hasty reply.

_Uhhh, no? I mean, it's a plausible sounding story. I've gotta go tho. Helping Stef with Care. TTYL._

She stuffed her phone in her pocket just as Stefan walked back to the car. He threw his clothes into the passenger's seat and turned towards her.

"Alright. Are we ready to jump off of that rope or what?"

Elowen grinned widely, grabbed his wrist and dragged him over to the waterhole.

"Just so you know," she said we they reached their destination. She grabbed the rope when it was tossed over to her. She passed it off to Stefan. "You're _so_ going first."

Meanwhile, Josiah was waiting for Caroline to finish changing. There had been a line and the only reason Stefan made it in first was because a majority of the girls thought he was hot and just wanted at look at him shirtless. Josiah had rolled his eyes and informed them he had a girlfriend.

While he was standing there, someone approached him and stopped in front of him. He stared at her and it took him awhile to realize it was him who she was wanting to talk to.

"Hey," she greeted with a smile. "I'm Aimee. You're Josiah, right?"

Josiah nodded and engaged in the conversation to be nice. "The one and only."

Aimee laughed. "I sit behind you in math. Although, I guess you would know that already?"

Josiah thought for a second to try and remember the seating chart. Now that he thought about it, Aimee did look a bit familiar. In the end, he nodded his head. "Yeah. I think I've seen you around before."

She rocked on her feet for a moment. "Well, you're missing all the fun out in the water just standing around. Did you maybe wanna head over together?"

"Uhh…" Josiah glanced back to where he knew Caroline was. "I think I'm fine for now. I just ate," he fibbed. "Don't wanna get sick and throw up."

"Aww." Aimee pouted. "Are you sure? There's a full moon tonight. We're gonna light a fire later and tell ghost stories. S'mores will be involved, too!"

"Hi, Aimee." Caroline's overly sweet voice rang out. Josiah cringed a bit. Based off of the tone of her voice, she wasn't happy.

"Oh, hi Caroline."

"Go find somebody single to stalk, Aimee," Caroline compelled. Aimee turned on her heel and left. Josiah looked at her, appalled and slightly disappointed. Caroline saw his face and her satisfied smirk quickly disappeared. "What? She was flirting with you!"

"So? She was harmless, Care. I would never do that to you. Do you not trust me or something?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then why the hell did you do that?" Josiah's voice raised slightly from frustration. He knew about the amplified emotions and how she was still adjusting and how things would take some getting used to, but it was hard to not get a little upset. Some people were looking their way, so he grabbed Caroline aside.

"She deserved it," Caroline stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Josiah shook his head in disbelief.

"Nobody deserves to have their mind messed with for shallow reasons." Caroline's face fell and his words. He'd struck a cord. "Come find me once you've got this all sorted out, okay?"

As he left her, him and Stefan traded places. He headed for Elowen while Stefan went to talk to Caroline. They passed each other and Josiah gave him an exasperated look. He knew Stefan would take care of it, though.

"What was that about?" Elowen asked when he reached her. Josiah sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, to be honest. You been in the water yet?"

"Stefan was about to swing off, but overheard you two. Wanna go?"

"Hell yeah I do!"

Josiah grabbed the rope when it was passed to him and stepped back a few steps. He took a running start and jumped off the ledge. When he let go, he soared through the air for a moment before splashing into the water. He emerged and second later, shook the water from his hair, and gave out a loud cheer. The others around him joined in.

As Elowen took her turn, Caroline and Stefan watched from afar. Her arms were crossed and looked at the pair longingly.

"I messed up big time. How the hell do you deal with magnified jealousy? I mean, you got the hang of it, right?"

A wry look came across Stefan's face. "Sometimes I lose control of it and I've been a vampire for over a century. It's something you're going to have to learn how to live with."

Caroline sighed. "Answer me this, then: how do you stop yourself from decking Damon in the face when he flirts with Elowen?"

"I had to remind myself that it would upset her and that I would feel incredibly guilty knowing I caused it. It's easy to fall for it every time, but you've gotta find the little things to ground you. You're less likely to do something stupid that way."

"Like compelling some girl because she was just innocently flirting with my boyfriend who would never cheat on me?"

Stefan chuckled through his nose. "Yeah. Like that."

**xxxx**

Nightfall had come and party goers were beginning to leave. Elowen, Josiah and Stefan had taken a few turns on the rope and were sitting in front of the fire when Caroline finally approached them. She'd decided to give Josiah space and think things over. Her thoughts had finally made enough sense to go talk to him.

"I have it sorted out now," she said quietly. Josiah looked up at her and meekly offered her his s'more. Caroline smiled lightly and took it.

"Walk with me?"

Josiah got up, but not without grabbing another s'more. Him and Caroline walked off to talk things over. Elowen and Stefan watched them go.

"You must've gotten through to her," Elowen noted, munching on a s'more.

"Yeah. Gave her some advice," Stefan replied. "She's trying really hard to get the hang of this."

"I noticed."

Elowen looked around and saw that they were just about the only people left. It seemed to finally dawn on her that it was a full moon when she looked up at the sky. Without any warning, she leapt up onto her feet. Stefan knitted his eyebrows at her behavior and stood as well.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said quickly. "We should probably get going like everyone else."

"... This has something to do with what you've been hiding, isn't it?"

Elowen looked back down at Stefan and swallowed. She bit her bottom lip. Both him and Damon knew something was up and she was having trouble keeping it a secret. She wanted to do her best to keep Toby safe. How was she supposed to do that if they figured it out 100%?

Stefan's phone rang and broke their lapse of silence. He answered it and set it on speaker. She saw the caller ID say Elena and vaguely wondered when they exchanged numbers. She didn't dwell on it and instead started to look around for Caroline and Josiah. They wandered farther than she thought they would.

"... There's one more thing," she heard Elena say. "According to the legend, a werewolf bite can kill a vampire."

Stefan looked up and saw that Elowen had moved a few feet away. It looked like she was already on top of trying to find Josiah and Caroline, but that didn't stop him from looking all around him.

"Listen, I gotta go," he told Elena. "I'll talk to you later." Stefan hung up and met back up with Elowen. He dialed Caroline's number when he caught up to her, but heard her phone in the distance. She'd left it in her purse.

Stefan and Elowen looked at each other. They both knew what they had to do, so they set off into the woods to continue their search. Hopefully, they wouldn't be too late.

**xxxx**

They'd been searching around for maybe 20 minutes when they came across Mason's car. Stefan went to go inspect the scratch marks on the ground and the half tied chains that were around a tree. Elowen had crept towards the car instead and tried to carefully peer through the windows. Two pairs of yellow eyes appeared and she took a step back. Before she could get fully out of the way, one broke through the glass, followed by the second wolf. She tripped over with a yelp. Stefan went to help her up as both wolves ran off into the woods.

"Are you okay?"

Elowen nodded her head. "Yeah. We need to work faster. Josiah and Caroline aren't safe out there."

As she started walking off to continue to search, Stefan grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

"Stefan, we need to find them. Let's go."

"Just hold on a second. Are werewolves bites really deadly to vampires?"

After a beat, Elowen nodded her head. "Which is why we need to find them. There's no known cure and Caroline could die for good if she gets bit. Now come on, let's go."

After Josiah and Caroline had made up, Josiah stopped walking and pulled Caroline closer. She giggled as their noses bopped against each other.

"What are we stopping for?" She asked.

"This."

Josiah lifted his chin and caught her lips with his own. They kissed for awhile before a growl rang out through the trees. Josiah pulled back while Caroline continued to kiss down his neck. He pushed her away.

"Caroline. Stop. You didn't hear that?"

Caroline pouted with a huff. Josiah looked around their surroundings and checked up in the treetops when his eyes caught sight of the full moon. His face balanced. Toby and Mason.

"Caroline," he said as calmly as he could. "We need to get out of here. Now."

Caroline furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head. "I don't understand. What's going on?"

Another growl sounded throughout the woods, except it was closer this time. Josiah grabbed Caroline's hand and tugged her in the opposite direction.

"Questions later. Please."

They started off in a fast walk/slow run until this time, two different growls echoed from either side of them. Thinking fast, Josiah took off at full speed with Caroline behind him.

"I can go faster," she stated as she scooped Josiah up effortlessly. Once he was securely in her arms, she zoomed away from the area. They made it as far as the old Lockwood ruins when suddenly, something jumped up out of nowhere and knocked the two of them to the ground. Josiah landed one way and Caroline landed the other.

It turned out to be one of the wolves. Toby, or Mason, immediately went for Caroline. She screamed and used all of her strength to hold it off, but it turned out to be stronger than she thought. Just when she thought it was going to bite her face off, it yelped and turned away from her. Josiah had used his fire powers to singe the back of the wolf's tail. It snarled at Josiah and prepared itself to lunge at him.

"No!"

Elowen slid through the dirt to put herself in between Josiah and the wolf. Her arms were splayed out in front of her brother protectively. Caroline had crawled away and sat a few feet away. Stefan helped her up to her feet and made sure she hadn't been bitten.

For a moment, the wolf appeared to relax at the sight of her. Toby.

"Toby, it's me," she tried to coax. Stefan snapped his head away from Caroline in surprise. "You wouldn't hurt me."

Toby had calmed down. His breathing was steady and his attack stance had eased up. Right when she thought that maybe she had gotten through to him, he charged her. Already semi prepared for this, Elowen cast the spell as fast as she could. Toby fell to the ground mid jump in pain and writhed around on the forest floor. He was whining and crying out and Elowen felt her chest tighten. She hated having to do this to someone she considered a friend.

Mason, who had been lurking in the dark, heard his son's cries of anguish and tried to come to his rescue. He stealthily crept up to everyone unnoticed and was about to pounce when Tyler came up the steps and noticed.

"Stop!"

They all turned at the sound of his voice. As it broke Elowen's concentration, Toby was able to flip back onto his paws as if nothing had happened. Him and Mason stared at Tyler, glanced at each other and then ran off.

Everyone else was left alone, reeling from what had just happened.

**xxxx**

"Toby and Mason both?" Stefan asked when him and Elowen were back at the boarding house. Josiah made sure Caroline got home safely with two werewolves scurrying about and Esmeralda had texted them both asking to put off coming home. Apparently Alaric, Damon and Elena were back from their little field trip and her and Alaric wanted to…. Talk. They would rather not think about what that could've been a code word for.

"Yeah," Elowen replied timidly from her place on the couch.

"Why didn't you tell us? Is that what you've been keeping to yourself all day?"

Elowen nodded her head. "I was just trying to protect them."

"From what?"

"Me, probably." Damon strolled into the room. "They're threats and we need to get rid of them," he deadpanned nonchalantly. He was in the middle of pouring himself a drink when Elowen scoffed and stood up.

"Yeah. That's exactly it, Damon. I can't trust you to not do something stupid. Toby is my friend. Werewolves are endangered because of people like you. Excuse me for trying to keep him safe."

Damon had stopped mid pour. His eyes flickered up to Elowen, who was standing her guard on the matter. Slowly, he set his glass down.

"Wen, their bite can kill us," he stated carefully.

"Uh-huh."

"And you said there's no known cure," Stefan reminded.

"And?"

Stefan and Damon glanced at each other. Elowen crossed her arms.

"It's not their fault they have the werewolf gene. You do realize how it works, right?"

At their blank looks, Elowen continued.

"Anyone who has the werewolf gene in their body starts out human. It lays dormant and most don't even trigger that part of themselves. They go their whole lives not even knowing it's there."

"... Then, what instigates it?" Stefan asked tentatively.

"Someone has to die at their own hands."

A heavy silence settled between Stefan and Damon. A very, very long moment passed before either of them even decided to open their mouths. At last, Damon said something.

"So, they have to kill someone?"

"Not directly, at least. I don't know how Mason triggered it, but Toby got in a bad car accident with his mom in the passenger seat. She didn't make it and he was the one behind the wheel. He still thinks it's his fault." She looked directly at Damon. "And you _will not _kill either one of them. I call the shots, remember?"

Damon scowled at himself a bit. He had said that, hadn't he?

"Fine," he begrudgingly agreed. "How are we supposed to deal with it, then?"

"Stay indoors on a full moon," Elowen told them like it was common sense. "Duh."

**xxxx**

Esmeralda and Alaric were up in Esmeralda's room. They finally sat down and had a serious talk about their relationship. It had been so rocky and so on and off that it was unclear where they stood.

They'd just covered the fact that they both really liked each other and had barely started to kiss when the doorbell rang. Esmeralda grumbled at being interrupted but got up nonetheless. She assumed it was one of the kids who had forgotten their keys, so she didn't bother looking through the peephole at all. She wished she did, because Luis was standing on the other side of the threshold, alive and breathing. He smirked at her dumbstruck expression.

"Hey, honey. I'm home."


	7. Chapter 7

Esmeralda stood, stupefied, until Alaric came downstairs. The sound of his footsteps stopped dead when he saw who was at the door.

Luis peered over Esmeralda's shoulder. "I see you're still playing around with that lowlife teacher. A pity." He smirked back down at his ex-wife. "How about you just invite me in and I'll take care of him?"

Esmeralda seemed to finally come to her senses. Her face became hard and stoic. She wouldn't show vulnerability around him. Not anymore.

"No," she confidently declined. Luis's lips twitched at her answer. He looked a bit confused and a sadistic grin made its way to Esmeralda's face. "You thought you could compel me? Oh, _honey_, you obviously didn't pay enough attention when we were together. Vampires can't compel other supernaturals. Nice try, though."

She sized him up and shrugged. "Maybe it's a good thing this happened. This way, you can't come into _my_ house and hurt _my _children ever again. That and I can do this." She tilted her head apathetically as Luis was brought to his knees. Slowly, her lips morphed into a sneer. "Take this as a warning. Come near me, my house or my family ever again, I will not hesitate to take you out. Understood?"

Esmeralda slammed the door shut. For a moment, she stood there, breathing heavily. She heard Alaric take a few steps closer from just behind her. Slowly, she dropped her head onto the door and hit her palm against it two or three times. A sob bubbled up in her throat.

Alaric wrapped his arms around her from behind in comfort. Esmeralda slid down the front door until the both of them were on the floor.

The only sound that echoed through the house was her crying.

**xxxx**

"_Looks like he found someone else to occupy his time."_

_Stefan was currently dreaming about his time with Katherine in 1864. They were dancing for the Founder's Ball and he was back in period clothing. He looked over at what Katherine was talking about and saw Elowen, dressed in modern clothing, talking with Damon. His eyebrows furrowed. What was she doing here?_

"_Elowen," he called out. She briefly glanced at Stefan before taking Damon's hand and heading for the door. Katherine put her hand on Stefan's chest._

"_Stefan, don't."_

_He ignored her and followed them through the doors. He was suddenly transported to the Mystic Grill, now in present day clothes. He looked down at his attire in confusion, but remembered why he'd come this way. He continued his journey until he found Elowen again. She was standing at the pool table._

_She held out the cue stick in his direction. "It's your turn."_

_Stefan smiled and started heading her way, except Damon cut in front of him with drinks in his hands. He stopped short._

"_Be prepared to lose," Damon said as he leaned in for a kiss. Elowen giggled and kissed him back._

"_It hurts, doesn't it?"_

_Stefan turned and found Katherine standing behind him._

"_Now you know how I feel. Don't fight it, Stefan. You loved me once. You can love me again."_

_Stefan scoffed and shook his head. "You're wrong, you do know that, right? The three of us are happy. Together. So no, I don't know how you feel, Katherine."_

_Katherine's face fell into a scowl._

"_Stop lying to yourself, Stefan. You aren't happy. It never did anyone any good to play pretend."_

_The scenery changed and they were back in 1864. Katherine tilted her head._

"_When you're ready, I'll welcome you with open arms. We'll be together again. I promise."_

Stefan woke up with a groan and blinked the sleep from his eyes. He felt a weight laying on his chest and assumed it was Elowen. The figure shifted and he drew them closer.

"It was just a bad dream," he mumbled. "Go back to sleep."

However, a second later, he realized it wasn't Elowen. He sped out of the bed and sneered at the person in question.

"Katherine," he growled. She laid back on her elbows and smirked.

"You have to admit, I am getting better at this."

"What did you do with Elowen?"

Katherine shrugged and pulled a folded piece of paper out of her jacket pocket.

"If this note is of any use, she went home." She turned the note around for Stefan to see. "'Family emergency. I'll message you later'," she recited. "Lousy girlfriend, leaving you all alone. I would never do that to you, Stefan."

Immediately, Stefan's tense stance loosened. Family emergency? His eyes flickered down to his phone, but before he could reach for it, Katherine plucked it off of the nightstand.

"Ah, ah. Don't even think about it." She shook the phone in her fingers, taunting him. "Let's turn this off. No need for distractions."

"What do you want?" He bit out as he watched her power down his phone. Judging by how easy it was for her to get here, Damon must've not been home. He secretly hoped he was with Elowen. Instead, he was stuck dealing with his psychotic ex from hell.

**xxxx**

Finding out their abusive father was still alive in some sense went about as well as you'd think. Elowen went straight into a panic attack and Josiah punched a hole in the wall. All Esmeralda could really do was watch.

She'd texted the both of them early that morning and said they need to get home, it's urgent. In the end, it was Alaric who broke the news. Esmeralda couldn't really bear to say it out loud.

"Do you want me to kill him? I can kill him."

Damon had tagged along when he caught Elowen rushing out the door with his car keys in hand. He said something about how nobody else could drive his car unless he gave them permission, but Elowen was too busy scrambling into the passengers seat. They'd arrived shortly before Josiah did.

Esmeralda shook her head. "No. Yes? No. I don't know. I don't even know how this happened. Was it Caroline?"

"No," Josiah immediately denied. "She's the one who killed him in the first place. Why would she bring him back as a vampire?"

"Then, I'm at a loss."

"Well, here's what we do know," Damon started to list things off. "He doesn't have a daylight ring, ergo, he's not a threat when the sun is up. He has to be invited in, which means he can't hurt you; he couldn't even if he wanted to. You can do that witchy… hoodoo…. Head thing. This means, _you_ can hurt _him_." He sighed and lowered his voice to a more serious, genuine one. "He was more of a danger to you as a human. This way, you can take drastic measures without feeling too guilty about anything."

Elowen sniffled and nodded her head. She had tear streaked cheeks as a result from her panic attack. Damon reached out and rubbed the wetness away with his thumbs.

"Yeah," she croaked. "I guess you're right."

A strained silence fell over the room. Alaric cleared his throat.

"There's supposed to be a barbecue at Jenna's house today. You guys should go; do something normal. It might help take your mind off of this."

Slowly, Esmeralda nodded her head.

"That's a good idea. We should start getting ready."

Everyone awkwardly broke away and left the living room. Damon nudged Elowen, who was the only one who didn't move.

"Hey. I'm about to head to The Grill to pick something up for the barbecue. Wanna come with?"

Elowen gave a weak nod and Damon helped her to her feet. After grabbing a hat to try and hide her face, the two left the house.

**xxxx**

"You shouldn't read someone's journal."

Stefan and Katherine moved to the living room after he managed to change without her prying eyes on him. She'd apparently occupied her time by swiping his diary before she left the room.

"I know. I'm sorry." She pouted. "It was just too tempting, all of your inner thoughts and feelings, laying there on your desk for me to read."

Stefan snatched the journal from her hands and replaced it with a glass of blood. "Damon's private stock."

"That's right! You don't do human. I read that. I also read about your recent werewolf sighting. That must've come as a surprise."

"Then you'd also know that Elowen's already told us everything we need to know about them. It's nice having a witch for a girlfriend."

Katherine's front cracked for a second, replaced with a deep glare. "Well, did she tell you they were responsible for ridding this town of vampires in 1864?"

Stefan chuckled. "That's cute. Trying to grasp back your upper hand."

"Just answer the question, Stefan."

He shrugged. "The founding families were all responsible for the church fire."

"But it was spearheaded by?"

"... The Lockwoods."

Maybe Katherine _did_ know something after all.

**xxxx**

"Thanks for letting me invite Esmeralda and the kids," Alaric was telling Jenna. "They could really use it right now."

"'The kids'?" She teased. Alaric rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "When you say it that way, you make it sound like they're yours."

"Well…." He mumbled. "I've come to really care about them, y'know?"

Jenna smiled knowingly. "No problem, Ric. Besides, they're not the ones I'm worried about." Her face twisted into one of distaste. "Why is Damon coming? I thought everyone knew what happened between me and him."

Alaric sighed. "He's… a work in progress. Elowen's kinda got through to him recently. She'll keep him in check, don't worry."

"I'll take your word for it. But if he causes any trouble…"

"He won't."

"Good news! I found the shot glasses!" Mason announced. Alaric and Jenna stepped back from each other, ending their conversation. Jenna rolled her eyes playfully at Mason.

"You're here for 10 minutes and I'm already back under the bleachers at the pep rally."

"Like old times, huh? Only I didn't swipe this bottle from my old man."

Esmeralda, Damon and Josiah arrived. Elowen had stayed outside with Caroline, Josiah was grabbing more snacks for her and Elena was still getting ready upstairs.

"Oh, the expensive stuff is out already." Esmeralda breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god."

Outside on the porch, Elowen was trying to get ahold of Stefan. His phone kept going straight to voicemail and she had already left 3 or 4.

"Is that Stefan?" Caroline asked as Elowen took a seat next to her.

"Yeah. He's not answering his phone. He never does that. I'm trying to decide if I should be worried."

"I'm sure he's fine," Caroline waved off. She stuffed a few more chips into her mouth. "God! I cannot stop _eating_. Stefan says it's a great way to sublimate the cravings. It's horrible just fighting the urge for blood every minute of everyday."

Elowen nodded in understanding. "Stefan's talked about it before. It doesn't sound easy."

"It's not and he hates that you're a constant temptation."

Elowen knitted her eyebrows and tilted her head in confusion. "He said that?"

"The desire to rip out your jugular every time he's with you? Trust me, it's there. It's a miracle I haven't hurt Josiah yet."

Elowen looked at the ground, hurt by Caroline's words. She knew it had something to do with her heightened emotions, but with everything she was already feeling, this was like the cherry on top. Josiah popped his head out of the front door.

"Scratch the snacks, Care. Food's ready."

"Finally! I'm starving."

Caroline set aside her bowl of chips and ventured into the house, leaving Elowen by herself. She needed a moment to herself before she got back to the party.

**xxxx**

"Y'know, we can sit here as long as you want," Stefan stated with his arms crossed. "And when you start to desiccate, there's a tomb with your name on it."

"I've been doing all the talking," Katherine weakly pointed out. She was strapped to a chair in the basement. Stefan had taken her by surprise and injected vervain into her system. "It's your turn. Do you pretend to be human when you're with Elowen? Is that the appeal?"

"Actually, I don't pretend to be anything when I'm with her. That's the whole point. I get to unapologetically be me, vampire and all."

"Does she know that you love me?"

"That's the thing, Katherine." Stefan shook his head. "I don't."

"That's where you're wrong, Stefan," Katherine wheezed out. "Don't you remember bringing me home that night? Your family had just taken me in."

"That was over 100 years ago, Katherine. Things change."

"You know that's a lie. So, go ahead, Stefan. Torture me, keep me captive, drain me of my blood until my body turns to dust. It'll never change the truth. I never compelled your love. It was real and so was mine."

**xxxx**

Elowen was attached to Esmeralda's side as everyone else played Pictionary. Understanding where this was coming from, Esmeralda wrapped her arm around Elowen's shoulder and pulled her closer. She had her head half buried into her mom's shoulder to try and block out all of the yelling.

"Dress! Ballerina!" Jenna shouted.

"Puppy! Puppy with a tutu!" Caroline guessed.

"Dog! Hound dog!" Jenna tried again.

"Dances with Wolves," Mason calmly answered from his spot in the corner. Everyone turned to him as Damon capped his pen.

"Mason wins… again."

Damon wandered into the kitchen with Elena, while Elowen slowly unraveled herself from Esmeralda and scooted towards Mason.

"Where's Toby? He loves Pictionary."

Mason cleared his throat and lowered his voice. "Tyler's antsy about what happened. Toby stayed behind to try and keep him at bay."

"Tobes isn't very good at dodging."

"That's what I'm worried about."

Elowen started climbing off of the couch. "I'll go give him a call and make sure everything's alright."

"Okay. Hey," Mason called out before she could leave. Elowen looked back. "Everything alright?"

Elowen flashed him a tired, lopsided smile. "No."

She pawed at her eyes with the back of her hand as she reached for her phone with the other. God, she hated feeling so tired and drained like this. Her fingers eventually found Toby's number and she quickly dialed it to try and take her mind off of things.

"Elles? Aren't you at the barbecue thing?"

"Yeah, and you aren't. How's Tyler doing?"

"Oh, right now he's ignoring me. Guess he got mad when it became obvious I wasn't gonna answer anything useful."

"Then ditch him and come hang with me."

"I don't think it's a good idea if I leave him alone-"

"Please?" Her voice was quiet and vulnerable now. Toby stopped heading up the stairs and immediately started heading the other way. "I really need a friend right now."

"Okay. I'm on my way."

"Thank you," she mumbled.

"No problem. See you soon."

Elowen hung up and sighed loudly. She found herself plopping onto one of the chairs on the porch.

"I'm your friend."

Elowen started a bit at the sound of someone. It was only Caroline. She relaxed.

"I know, but I mean someone who understands the situation better. My dead, abusive father is back in my life and I hardly even knew how to handle his actual death."

"And I don't understand the situation?"

"Quite frankly, no, you don't," Elowen stated bluntly. Caroline blinked in surprise. "Toby lived through it with me. He was the most supportive friend/at the time boyfriend when we were actively dealing with Luis. Your knowledge only goes as far as a couple of stories Jo has told you. You can't solve everything, Caroline."

**xxxx**

Toby arrived 15ish minutes later. Caroline went back inside after Elowen's outburst, dejected and feeling slightly guilty about the task Katherine had given her. God, she was supposed to say all those horrible things. Could she really do that now?

"Hey," Toby greeted softly when he approached Elowen.

"Hey," she replied feebly. He took a seat in one of the chairs next to her.

"What's going on? I haven't seen you this bad since….." He stopped short. The pieces started to click together in his head and one look from Elowen filled him in. "He's back?" He shook his head to try and clear his thoughts. "Hold on, I heard he was dead. They said so on the news. 'Victim of deadly stabbing passed away late in the evening'."

Elowen continued to stare at him until he understood.

"... You mean?"

"Yeah."

Toby fell back into his chair, completely taken off guard from this news. "But… who?"

Elowen shrugged her shoulders. "No idea. I'm not sure I want to know."

A few beats of silence passed. Toby lifted his eyes and stared at Elowen.

"I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through." He nudged her foot with his own to gain her attention. "I know you, Elles. You don't process things well and you get overwhelmed easily. Actually, you usually refuse to address your emotions. You run away from them."

Elowen chuckled through her nose and shook her head. He really hit the nail on the head, didn't he? Toby cracked a smile when he realized he was getting somewhere.

"You like to lock yourself away and wallow. But, you know the rules. None of that while I'm around."

Slowly, the corners of one side of her mouth started to lift in a crooked smile. Toby dropped his head down to get a better look, peering at her with an overly goofy grin on his face. Elowen laughed, genuinely laughed, for the first time that day.

"There she is!" Toby cheered at the sound. "I knew she was there somewhere."

When she was done, she smiled gratefully at him. "God, I missed you."

"Eh, what can I say? Josiah can't be the only class clown in your life."

The front door creaked open a second time, except this time, it was Damon who peeked through the threshold.

"Oh, you're here." His nose wrinkled in distaste at the sight of Toby. Elowen gave him a warning look from over Toby's shoulder. "Nevermind that. Did you forget we were gonna start eating once Pictionary was done?"

"Yeah, sorry. Caroline didn't nose dive for the hot dogs and burn her mouth again, did she?"

"Not yet."

Elowen and Toby both stood at the same time.

"Guess I got here right on time, didn't I?" Toby grinned. Elowen rolled her eyes playfully.

"I forgot. Your stomach is a bottomless pit."

"Huh. Just like a dog," Damon mused. Another warning glare from Elowen. Toby was able to brush it off as if a passive comment hadn't been said.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Seeing his remark had no effect, Damon switched gears.

"Bet you 20 bucks I can out eat you."

"Oh, you're so on, playboy's poster boy."

With raised eyebrows, Damon opened the door wider and the three of them entered the house.

"May the best alpha win."


	8. Chapter 8

After eating, Elowen sort of blacked out. Not literally, she just couldn't really remember what had happened after. She remembered Damon and Toby eating like animals (no pun intended) on the back porch and everyone laughing about the mess they were making. Even Esmeralda and Josiah seemed to be in higher spirits. Elowen probably would've been, too, if she could just get ahold of Stefan and at least know he was okay.

She was curled up back in the living room, the sound of the rest of the party going on outside muffled through the walls. She'd just tried to call Stefan for the umpteenth time and, once again, was sent straight to voicemail. She was definitely starting to get worried now.

Elowen had just slumped against the couch, dejected, with her phone clutched in her hand when it happened. Images started to surge through her as she was sucked into a premonition.

"_Your father has outdone himself," Katherine was telling someone Elowen didn't recognize. They seemed to be at a Founder's Ball back in 1864._

"_Knowing father, he will want to throw a Founder's Ball every year," the man replied._

"_I must admit." Katherine tilted her head. "I'm rather surprised that you'd come looking for me."_

"_Because you are the rope in the Salvatore brothers' tug of war?" The man commented lightheartedly. Katherine had dropped her facade as she sipped on her glass of wine._

"_No, because I'm a vampire who could kill you in your sleep."_

_The man had leaned back, both in surprise and out of mild fear. "I beg your pardon?"_

"_Relax, George," Katherine drawled. "I know you know my secret."_

"_This conversation is over," George said shortly. He started to leave, but Katherine caught his arm before he got very far._

"_And I know your secret, too. I also know that you're strong, only not as strong." She let him go with a smug grin. George glanced around them to make sure nobody was listening in._

"_How do you know what I am?" He asked lowly._

_Katherine smirked. "You think that I would settle into a town without knowing my enemies?"_

_With a clenched jaw, George looked down at Katherine. Finally, he asked, "What do you want?"_

_The scene changed and Elowen found herself standing near the old Salvatore estate. Katherine and George were strolling along the grounds._

"_I just spoke to Giuseppe Salvatore," George was saying. "The round up happens tonight."_

"_Good," Katherine replied. "Insist that they do a body count before the church is set ablaze."_

"_I will," George promised._

"_27 vampires," Katherine stressed. She had no room for her plan to fail. She needed to be 'dead'. Whatever it took to make it happen._

"_Once the flames create chaos, crawl to the exit under the quire loft. I'll be there to set you free."_

"_Make sure you're not followed," Katherine instructed. "I need everyone to believe I perished in the fire."_

_Katherine's eyes flickered to where Elowen was standing and tilted her head. "Elowen."_

_This had never happened before. Usually, she just saw the scene play out in her head. This time, she was present, but not present. It was like she was watching everything happen in front of her. And she was positive that nobody was supposed to know she was here. This was a replay of past events._

"_Elowen," Katherine said again. Slowly, the premonition started to chip away. A different voice started to come out of Katherine's mouth, which vaguely sounded like Damon, until everything had gone black._

Elowen gasped loudly as she was brought back to present day. She wildly surveyed her surroundings, slightly disoriented from the new form of vision.

"Hey, hey," Damon's calm voice eventually reached her ears. "It's okay. You're okay. What happened?"

Elowen was breathing heavy, trying to catch her breath. She shook her head. "I don't…. Know. It was so… out of place."

"How about this? We were about to start on dessert. That'll give you time to figure this out. We can talk this over after and see what we can come up with. Okay?"

Elowen eventually nodded her head. "Okay."

Damon, as he always did, helped her onto her feet and headed for the kitchen. The peach cobbler that Damon had picked up earlier was sitting in the middle of the dining table. He grabbed the silver pie server off of the counter and slid it underneath a pre-cut piece.

"Mason, why don't you start us off?"

Elowen, Mason and Toby all seemed to pick up that it was made of silver and quickly eyed one another. Maybe it was so he could keep the upperhand and make Damon think it was a weakness, but Mason turned the dish around and picked up a slice with his hands instead. He licked his fingers and looked up at everyone as if he realized what he just did.

"Sorry, I'm such an animal."

Realizing that plan was thwarted, Damon turned to Toby.

"How about you? You want any?"

Toby shook his head. "Nah. I don't think I can eat a whole piece on my own. We ate a lot out there."

Elowen grabbed a plate and dished herself some. She grabbed two forks and handed one to Toby. "We can share."

She caught sight of Damon's suspicious gaze and lead Toby back to the living room. The conversation in the dining room continued as her and Toby ate their cobbler.

"Is he always like this?" Toby asked as lowly as he could. Elowen saw Damon's ears perk up and knew he was listening. She put a finger to her lips. Instead, she pulled out her phone to text him.

_Unfortunately, yes. He's really untrusting._

_That's a shame. He rlly thought silver would hurt us?_

_It's the same way garlic doesn't hurt him. It's a myth. He just hasn't realized it yet._

_And u won't tell him the truth?_

_Ofc not. I'll do my best to protect u as long as I can._

_Thank u. It means a lot._

_Np. Now let's eat. I think Damon's getting sus that we're on our phones._

**xxxx**

Toby ended up eating most of the pie. Elowen's appetite was practically nonexistent at the moment and she was far too worried about Stefan now. Paired with the random premonition from earlier, she knew something must be up. She sighed as Stefan's phone went right to voicemail again.

"Would I be the worst friend in the world if I abandoned you and went to Stefan's?"

Toby shook his head. "Stefan seems like a good guy, at least compared to that one." He nodded his head in Damon's direction. "I doubt he's dodging your calls on purpose." He took the now empty plate off of her lap, set it on the coffee table and stood up. "Come on. I'll drive you over there."

"You're leaving?"

Elowen had just stood up when Caroline was suddenly on top of her. She seemed more on edge than usual, but Elowen didn't have the energy to focus on her and Stefan at the same time. She nodded.

"Yeah. Stefan still hasn't answered his phone and I know something…. Bad has to be going on. I'm just gonna pop in and check on him. If all's okay, I'll be right back."

Her and Toby headed for the door, but Caroline practically dove in front of them. They both stopped in surprise.

"Look, take it from me," she said hastily. "There's nothing worse than a clingy girlfriend."

"Elowen isn't a clingy girlfriend," Toby commented from behind Elowen. "I would know."

"Yeah? And how would you know?" Caroline snarked and crossed her arms. Elowen and Toby sent one another a wary glance.

"We dated in middle school," he calmly replied.

Caroline's stance faltered.

"Care…." Elowen tentatively started. "I thought I told you this already. Is everything alright?"

Caroline bristled and stood up straighter. "Peachy," she replied tensely. "If you really wanna see your blood drinking, immortal, barely holding his cravings together boyfriend, fine. I'll give you a ride."

Elowen had to act like Caroline's attitude wasn't getting under her skin. She lazily patted Toby's upper arm.

"Thanks, but Toby already offered."

"Then I'll come with."

"Caroline-"

"I've made up my mind," Caroline said shortly. "I'll wait for you outside."

The door closed with a bit more force than it should've when Caroline left. Josiah carefully came up behind them and stared at the door in confusion.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know," Elowen answered. "But I'll try to find out. Come on, Toby. We should get going."

**xxxx**

Elowen was seated in the passengers seat while Caroline was in the back. Elowen was once again trying Stefan's phone, but was, as you guessed, was met with voicemail. She sighed loudly and flopped her hands onto her lap.

"Thanks, by the way," she told Toby. "I appreciate it. I really hate not having my own car anymore."

"What happened to that, by the way? Did it finally break down?"

"You could say that."

Elowen caught Toby giving her a look from the corner of her eye and shook her head.

"It's a long story."

"Well, we've got the time."

"Here we come, to the rescue," Caroline muttered from the back seat. Elowen furrowed her eyebrows and looked back at her through the rear view mirror.

"What is your problem?" She asked. "You're being snippier than usual."

"That's my own drama." Caroline rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you two will beat the odds; you always do. Although this supposed freaky Salvatore threesome thing you apparently have going on now? That you didn't fill me in on, by the way, not so much. There's virtually no study to pull odds from. I mean, what is the ratio of success for vampire-human couplings? Especially vampire-human-vampire couplings? I'm guessing nil."

Elowen completely twisted around in her seat to be face to face with Caroline. Her face was a peculiar mix of annoyance, offense and disbelief.

"What the hell, Caroline?" She bit. "Is this really about me and Stefan? And Damon?" She added at the end. She still wasn't quite used to that yet. "Or is this about your sudden realization that you're never going to age and Josiah will? That you're scared of him dying while you live on. Scared of having to possibly abandon him so he won't get hurt. Scared that he'll eventually forget you when he gets old. Scared of forgetting him decades down the line. Is that it and you're just taking it out on me?"

The more Elowen listed off, the quieter Caroline had gotten. She sank further and further into her seat until she was nearly off the edge. She would be lying if she said none of these thoughts hadn't passed her mind since she woke up as a vampire. She almost forgot how….. unfiltered Elowen got when she was in such a state as she is now. Every time, it was nothing but the truth.

Toby had kept his eyes on the road and stayed out of the conversation. In fact, he'd done his best to tune it out completely. Both girls were grateful for this. Elowen stared at Caroline expectantly when she stayed silent. Caroline had just opened her mouth to reply when suddenly, there was a loud pop, followed by the car lurching to one side and gradually coming to a stop. Toby had managed to pull over just in time.

"Shit," he cursed. He shut the ignition off and stepped out of the driver's seat to inspect. The back tire on his side had completely blown out on the bottom. He kicked it in frustration. Elowen had gotten out of the car and came around to see what the problem was.

"Status report, captain?"

He gestured to the tire. "It's blown. There's no way we can drive with it like this."

"You don't have a spare?" Elowen asked.

Toby paused for a second. Wait a second…. He walked to the back of the car and pried the trunk open. He laughed in triumph.

"Houston, we're back in business."

**xxxx**

It didn't take Toby long to swap the flat tire out for the spare donut. In that time, Caroline had gotten out to stretch and 'tie her shoes'. Neither Toby or Elowen noticed that she had tampered with another tire since they weren't on her side. She felt bad; Toby would have to invest in two sets of new back tires after this was over.

"Alright, that should do it!" Toby announced when he was done. He hauled the bad tire into the trunk, along with the tools and shut it. "We're good to go."

The only downfall of having a donut tire meant that they couldn't go very fast. 50 mph was pushing it, so they were creeping by at about 35 mph. Caroline felt a bit more at ease knowing that they weren't going to get very far before the second tire blew out. She really didn't want to know what Katherine would do if she failed.

As predicted, the second tire fell completely flat within the next half hour.

"You're fucking kidding me!" Toby exclaimed. "I know I just had these tires filled with air."

"Maybe you went over something sharp on the way here?" Elowen suggested.

"On two tires, though?"

Elowen shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what to tell you, Tobes."

He sighed through his nose, irritated, as he once again shut the car off. "I'm gonna call for a tow truck," he mumbled.

"I'll do it," Caroline quickly offered before Toby could get out of the car. She could compel the tow truck people to take their precious time in getting here and delay Elowen even more. Absolutely done with the situation, Toby waved his hand in a 'go ahead' motion and Caroline scrambled out of the car.

"What a fucking day," Toby mumbled

"Tell me something I don't know," Elowen replied with a huff.

**xxxx**

"The tow still isn't there?" Elowen asked in mild exasperation.

Toby shook his head. "No."

They'd been waiting hours for someone to come; at this point, Elowen was ready to catch a ride with the first car that passed by. None did, though. She'd called Damon to help pass the time.

"And you've been waiting for _how_ long? It's already nightfall, for fucks sake."

"Yeah, I know," Elowen agreed, annoyed. She kicked at a pebble on the road and lifted herself onto the hood of Toby's car. "I'm starving and thirsty and I have to pee. This is absolute torture."

"Stay put. I'll come get you."

"No!"

Elowen looked at Caroline, who had been mostly quiet and occupied her time by pacing and saw she was sending Elowen a frantic look.

"Let me just try the tow truck people again. And I'll use my agro voice this time."

"It's not polite to eavesdrop, Blondie," came Damon's reply. "At this rate, I'll be there before the tow truck does."

"I mean, we can probably just walk from where we're at," Toby mused. He came to stand next to Elowen and leaned over to try and listen to what Damon was saying.

"We can't just leave your car," Caroline said in a frenzy. Elowen and Toby shot each other another look. She'd been doing this all evening.

"We can come back for it. It's not a big deal," Toby waved off. "Or one of us could stay while the other makes sure Elowen makes it to Stefan's safely."

"But-"

"Caroline, what part of, 'I'm worried about Stefan', didn't sink in?"

"What's the rush?" Caroline asked curtly. "Why are you hurrying to get to a relationship that will never work?"

Silence. Even Damon wasn't quite sure what to say. Tightening her grip on her phone, Elowen mentally took a deep breath.

"Look, you're upset about Josiah, I get it. But will you stop projecting it onto me and Stefan and Damon please?"

She could feel Damon smirking through the phone and tried her hardest not to roll her eyes. Caroline immediately got defensive.

"I'm not projecting anything!" She yelled. "You're human, they're vampires. You're gonna be 70 and in diapers and both Stefan and Damon are gonna be smoking hot, and- and you'll never be able to have kids with them, Elowen! And you would be such a great mom!"

"Replace Stefan and Damon with you and Josiah with me and you're facing the same situation, Caroline!" Elowen exploded back. She was getting sick and tired of Caroline pressing this subject onto her. "Just admit it!"

"Well, excuuuuse me for trying to be your friend," Caroline condescendingly shot back.

"My bad for trying to do the same thing."

Headlights flashed down the road and the tow truck came into sight. Elowen jumped off of the hood of the car and started in the direction of the boarding house.

"I'm just gonna walk."

"No, Elowen! Don't!" Caroline jumped forward and grabbed hold of Elowen's arm. Elowen's muscles tightened as she felt Caroline's vice grip on her bicep. For a second, Caroline's image flickered and Luis took her place. Her throat started to close on her as an old memory surfaced in her head. Toby, knowing what was happening immediately, darted towards them and tried to pry Caroline's hand away.

"Hey, let her go! You're hurting her!"

Elowen was jostled between Caroline and Toby struggling and dropped her phone onto the ground. Damon heard the ruckus from the other line and had already started fast walking to his car from his spot behind The Grill (he'd just confronted Mason Lockwood and hoped to god Elowen wouldn't find out).

"Wen? Wen!" When he got no reply, he cured under his breath. "That's it, I'm on my way." He hung up as he climbed into the driver's seat of his car. He set off at a speed that was borderline dangerous, but he didn't really give a shit.

Toby's super strength was almost no match compared to Caroline's, but there was no way he was going to give up. Instead, he reached up with his other hand and used the same vigor to harshly pinch the inside of Caroline underarm. She hissed as she started to bleed and quickly drew back. He pulled Elowen behind him and away from Caroline when he had the opportunity.

"Hey there, someone called about a flat tire?"

They all turned and found that the tow truck had stopped in front of them and the driver had gotten out.

"Yeah, she did." Toby nodded his head in Caroline's direction. He bent over and picked up Elowen's phone from the ground and handed it back to her. She silently took it and placed it in her pocket. Toby gently grabbed Elowen's hand and pulled her away. "We're walking. Have the car towed back to Tyler's, alright?"

Caroline watched, ashamed, as Toby and Elowen disappeared down the road.

**xxxx**

"Are you gonna tell me why you came back here or are you just playing another game?"

Stefan still had Katherine strapped to a chair and was grilling her with question after question in the basement. While he had learned some possibly useful information, she still wouldn't answer his main question.

"Have you not heard a word that I've said?" Katherine questioned. "I've already told you the answer five times over now."

"Oh, good. Make it six."

"I want what I want, Stefan," Katherine muttered with determination. "I don't care what I have to do to get it. My list of victims is a long one and I have no problem adding one more name to that list."

"Come on, Katherine. If you wanted Elowen dead, you would have done it by now."

"Still can. If I have to, I will snap her neck like a twig and you know it."

Stefan ripped the leg off of the chair he was sitting on and rushed over to Katherine in the blink of an eye. The makeshift stake hovered over her for a second before he started to back off. At the last second, he changed his mind and plunged the weapon into her thigh instead. Katherine screamed in pain and struggled against the restraints.

"Don't you dare threaten her life again, or next time it'll be your heart that stake goes through."

Through gritted teeth, Katherine collected her bearings. "I don't want you seeing Elowen anymore. If you don't remove her from your life, I will kill everyone that she loves while she watches and then, I will kill her while you watch."

Stefan was on her for a second time, possibly faster than before. He had one hand wrapped around her throat while the other ripped the stake out of her leg and held it over her heart.

"Don't you ever think for one moment that I will not kill you. You think getting rid of Elowen will suddenly make me love you again? Stop being so full of yourself, Katherine. It'll only make me hate you even more than I already do."

Suddenly, Katherine broke through the shackles on her arms and threw Stefan against the wall. She stood and did the same for her ankles.

"I have been sipping vervain every single day for the last 145 years. You caught me by surprise once, I wasn't going to let it happen again. It doesn't hurt me, Stefan."

"Then why did you play along?"

"I told you. I missed you, Stefan. I just wanted to spend some time with you."

The sound of the front door opening caught the attention of the both of them. Katherine smirked, grabbed the stake he had used on her and thrust it into Stefan's own leg.

"Doesn't feel so nice, does it?"

She left the room and started making her way upstairs. Elowen and Toby ventured farther into the empty house and started looking around.

"Hello?" Elowen called out. "Stefan?"

Toby had gone into another room and left Elowen on her own.

"Stefan?" She heard him call and she found herself feeling grateful that he was still helping her. Of course he is, dummy, Elowen thought to herself. He used to be your best friend. After realizing Stefan wasn't in the living room, she turned to meet up with Toby. Instead, she came face to face with Katherine.

"Hello again," she casually taunted. Elowen immediately glared. Why hadn't it dawned on her sooner that Katherine must've been involved somehow?

"Aww, you look terrible." Katherine pouted, mocking Elowen's disheveled appearance and overall crummy vibe. "Dealing with daddy issues?"

If it were possible, Elowen's glare intensified. Her jaw tensed and her whole body stood taller.

"You," she growled.

Katherine smiled innocently and shrugged. "Me."

"Why would you turn my dad? What do you need him for?"

Katherine started to circle Elowen, like a predator waiting to pounce on its prey.

"You were in my way. I knew that if I added him back to the equation, you would be out for the count. Consider yourself lucky. When that blonde slut Lexi and her annoying sidekick crossed my path, I got rid of them. You just got saddled with a vengeful, insanely strong, immortal vampire father."

Hearing Katherine confirm that it was her who killed Lexi and Vicki made Elowen's blood boil. She was mere seconds away from attacking when Stefan's voice rang out.

"Elowen?!"

Said girl turned at the sound of his voice. When she looked back, Katherine was gone. Toby came running back into the room at the frenzied tone Stefan had. He thought maybe something bad had happened.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked as he approached Elowen, a slight limp to his leg. He gave her a quick once over to make sure Katherine hadn't hurt her. Elowen shook her head. She could already feel tears of frustration stinging the corners of her eyes.

"No. Are you okay?"

"No."

They both fast walked to each other and caught one another in a tight embrace. Toby, seeing Elowen was in safe hands, started for the door. He was a few feet away from it when Damon came barreling through the entrance.

"Is everything okay? What happened?" He asked wildly, eyes wide as he swiftly made long strides towards Elowen. Her and Stefan had just let go of each other when Damon took hold of her face. "Are you hurt?"

"No. Toby was able to get Caroline off of me."

"Wait- Caroline?" Stefan asked, confused, from beside them. Damon's eyes flickered to where Toby was standing, as if finally realizing he was there. He stared at him for a moment, conflicted, before nodding his head.

"Thank you."

Toby nodded back. He pointed towards the door.

"I'm gonna get going. See you later, Elles."

Once Toby was gone, both brothers turned to Elowen.

"Alright, little witch. I think you have some explaining to do."

**xxxx**

Stefan was distraught when he found out Lexi was dead because of Katherine. Damon, on the other hand, was livid upon hearing Luis was back because Katherine was a 'spoiled, bitchy, piss baby'.

After the initial reactions were over, they devised a plan for Stefan and Elowen to stage a public breakup for everyone's sake and get Katherine off of her back for awhile. That wasn't something Elowen could handle right now.

Which is why Stefan and Elowen found themselves entering The Grill. Caroline was sitting on her own and sat forward when she saw them.

"Elowen," she called out. Elowen turned and sighed upon seeing it was Caroline. Stefan patted her shoulder and ventured off to find them an empty table.

"Hey," Elowen greeted as she approached Caroline.

"Oh my god. I am _so_ sorry about everything I said today. I don't know what came over me. I guess you were right. I don't want to face the facts, so I took it out on you."

"It's okay, Caroline," Elowen reassured. "Everything you said was…. Right. It's just still hard to hear sometimes, y'know?"

"So… you're not mad at me?" Caroline asked quietly. Elowen shook her head.

"You were just being a good friend. In your own Caroline way."

"Yeah, my own headcase, horrible way. Elowen, I _really am_ sorry."

Elowen gave her one last smile before going to meet Stefan. She took a seat across from him and gulped down one of the glasses of water the waiter had brought over.

"Well, you're thirsty," Stefan noted.

"Yeah, spending a whole day being worried sick about you and then finding out you were keeping your jealous ex captive will do that to you."

"Listen, I know you're upset and I'm sorry," Stefan apologized. "I should've tried to get ahold of you faster. But, we have to take her seriously. Today was about all the lengths she's willing to go."

"If she wanted to kill me, she would've already. If anything you've told me means anything, it's that she always has a plan. And killing me isn't apart of it."

"Or you just caught her off guard," Stefan countered. "It doesn't mean you're out of her neck of the woods yet."

"Look, I'm not really in the mood to talk about this right now, okay? My dad is back from the dead, your psycho ex girlfriend is behind it and my family is barely holding on as a result. We're ready to burst at the seams, Stefan. So, let her kill me. I don't care."

"Well, you should."

"Well, I don't!" Elowen raised her voice.

"You need to take this more seriously, Elle!" Stefan raised his voice back, frustrated.

"I'm taking it as seriously as I can!" Elowen yelled, banged her hands on the table and stood up from her chair. The legs had scratched loudly on the ground and had caused the whole restaurant to go silent. Everyone was staring at them. She returned to her seat as calmly as she could. Taking a deep breath, she lowered her voice. "If Katherine had her way, we'd be breaking up right now. I don't want to give her that satisfaction."

"If today taught me anything, it's that Katherine is used to getting her way."

"Soooo, what?" Elowen barked. "We do what she says then?"

Stefan shook his head. "No. I'm saying that she's sadistic, alright? She threatened you. She threatened everybody."

"Yeah, no, I get it," Elowen said hotly. "She's dangerous, blah, blah, blah. You've given me this spiel one too many times, Stefan. Why are you giving her so much power over our relationship?"

"I'm not," Stefan denied with annoyance. "I'm just stating what the reality of our situation is."

"Well, reality sucks." Elowen crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. She scoffed. "This is what she wants. She wants us to fight. She wants to get between us."

"She already has, Elowen," Stefan muttered. Elowen swallowed as she stared at Stefan.

"What do you propose we do then?"

"... Maybe we should take a break."

Elowen's jaw clenched. "Fine," she said as she stood up. "Guess Damon's got me all to himself now, doesn't he?"

Damon, who was stationed at the bar, took this as his que and started rushing after Elowen. When he passed Stefan, he shot him the most pissed off, 'how dare you', glare he could muster. Stefan sat there with the broodiest expression he'd ever seen on him.

Elowen was just outside, hyperventilating and trying not to cry. Damon couldn't tell if this was part of the act, but still came up behind her and gently grabbed onto her waist.

"Come on," he mumbled. "We need to get you out of here." He guided her back to his car and helped her into the passenger's seat. He buckled her in and rounded back to the driver's side. Damon got in, started up the engine and set off for the boarding house.

**xxxx**

Elowen and Damon were huddled in front of the fire, wrapped in two layers of blankets when the front door finally opened and Stefan walked in. Damon looked over his shoulder and watched as his younger brother approached them. Stefan kneeled down next to Elowen's other side and watched her for a minute. She didn't break her eyes away from the fire.

"Are you cold?" He asked curiously.

"I hated that fight," Elowen mumbled thickly instead. Stefan sighed. He knew she was still sensitive from the bombshell that was dropped on her this morning and had actually been worried this would affect her. He shifted his position to where he was sitting next to her on the ground.

"I know. Me, too," he agreed. "It felt too real."

"It sounded real," Damon commented. "If I wasn't in on it, I would've thought it was."

"Did you guys see Caroline?" She asked. Stefan nodded his head while Damon whistled.

"Boy, did I. Blondie was hanging onto every single word like she was able to fall off of a cliff. It won't be long before Katherine gets a play by play."

Elowen sighed and leaned against Stefan. He kissed the crown of her head and started to play with her hair. She found it incredibly comforting and leaned farther into his touch.

"I wish I was wrong, but it was so obvious something was up today." Elowen was fiddling with Damon's ring and realized how…. Comfortable they all already were with the threesome relationship. Like they'd been doing it for years. Elowen was grateful.

"It's pure Katherine." Damon rolled his eyes. "She's always finding somebody to do her dirty work."

"There's no way Caroline won't mention this to Jo. Should I tell him it was fake?"

She felt Stefan shake his head. "No." His voice vibrated through her body and she found it very hard to keep her eyes open. "The only way Katherine is gonna believe it is if everyone believes it. Especially your family. That's the best way to make her think she's getting what she wants."

The three of them quieted down and sat in a serene silence. When Damon looked over at Elowen several minutes later, he found her sound asleep. He held his index finger to his lips and nodded down at her to Stefan, who looked down as well. As carefully as he could, Stefan scooted away so Damon could pick her up.

"Another day, another chapter," Damon whispered as he carried her to his room. "What d'you suppose we do now?"

"Get her to bed," replied Stefan. "We'll figure the rest out later."

With Elowen positioned in the middle, Stefan on her left and Damon on her right, it seemed like, in that moment, everything was perfect and as it should be.

They knew the moment wouldn't last the second they woke up in the morning.


	9. Chapter 9

_Toby and his mom, Mikayla, or Mick for short (Mickey if your name was Mason Lockwood), were exiting a local restaurant after having a celebratory dinner. As they neared the car, Mick tossed the keys towards Toby._

"_You go ahead and drive, hun."_

_Toby caught the keys and grinned at his mom. "Seriously?"_

"_Yeah!" Mick nodded as she went around to the passenger's side. "My baby just passed his driver's test. There's no way that I'm gonna rob him of his first time behind the wheel with a proper license."_

_Eagerly, Toby rushed into the driver's seat and started up the ignition. After adjusting the mirrors to fit his height, he looked over his shoulder to back out of the parking space. They were out of the parking lot and onto the roads without a hitch._

"_Sooooo, sophomore year is coming to an end," Mick started casually. Toby narrowed his eyes, but kept them on the road._

"_Yeah, and?"_

"_And, maybe you should start thinking ahead just a bit," Mick suggested. "I'm not saying you need to have everything figured out or make a decision right this second, but you're halfway through high school. I think it's time to draw up a rough draft."_

"_You know I've always sucked at drawing."_

_Mick laughed fondly from her side of the car. "Yeah, you are," she agreed. Toby rolled his eyes. "But, you know what I mean. You're 16. That's the age where your life gets passed from my hands to yours."_

_Toby sighed as he turned down a street that lead to their neighborhood. "I know. It's just hard. And confusing."_

"_And I understand that. I'll be there to hold your hand until you get the hang of it. Deal?"_

_Toby smiled. "Deal."_

_He took a left at the next stop sign, which put them on their street. They were only a couple houses away from their own when, as they passed a T junction turn, bright headlights gleamed brightly from their right. Neither thought anything of it until it was too late._

_The lights flashed closer and closer, at a speed rate that they weren't able to process in time and collided with the side of their car. The force of the hit caused their car to slide a few feet and tip onto its side._

_It took Toby a long while for his brain to catch up with him. He might've even been unconscious for a short bit. He groaned and felt something wet dripping down his eyebrow. A quick swipe across his forehead confirmed that it was blood, probably as a result from all the glass that flew into his face. _

_Blearily, Toby pushed away the airbag and looked to the side for his mom. Mick wasn't conscious. The side of her head was soaked with blood that trickled all the way down her arm. As she was on the upper part of the tipped car, her arm was dangling from her seat. The blood had reached her fingertips and dribbled onto the dashboard._

"_Mom?" Toby called out weakly. There were spots clouding the corners of his eyes that were limiting his vision. When he didn't hear a response, he started to panic. It wasn't until he tried to move that a sharp, burning pain shot up his arm. He cried out and looked down. His wrist was incredibly swollen and very well could've been broken. However, his determination to get to his mom weighed out the pain._

_Maneuvering as best as he could, Toby was able to sluggishly unbuckle his seatbelt with his uninjured hand. He fell against the door and screamed again when he landed on his wrist. His ears were ringing and the spots in his eyes were starting to take over his line of sight as the seconds ticked by. The last thing he remembered before passing out was the sound of sirens and flashing lights._

**xxxx**

_Toby woke up in the hospital to his body feeling like it was on fire. He convulsed and saw his eyes glowing yellow in the reflection of the tv near his bed. A nurse came running in and injected a fresh round of painkillers into his IV. That was enough to calm him down._

_He looked at his surroundings and inspected himself. His right arm was in a cast and he felt a bandage wrapped around his head from where he must've been bleeding. He didn't realize the nurse was saying anything until her face appeared directly in front of his._

"_Did you hear me?" She asked. "How are you feeling?"_

"_Where's my mom?" Toby questioned instead. The nurse became visibly uncomfortable and shifted around awkwardly. Dread started to spread throughout his chest. No, he thought, as a memory of Elowen disclosing his heritage came to the surface of his brain._

"You're a werewolf," she'd said. "Well, not yet," she added quickly at the sight of Toby's wide eyes. "The gene is lying dormant right now."

"Dormant? Wha- That doesn't make sense." Toby wanted to act like he didn't believe her, but by then he'd already learned to trust Elowen.

She'd made the same face the nurse was making and stalled for a moment. Finally, she said, "... There has to be human blood on your hands."

"_Where is my mom?" Toby asked, much louder this time. The nurse cleared her throat and started for the door._

"_Let me go get the doctor."_

"_Just tell me where she is!"_

_But the nurse was already gone. After spending what felt like a decade, antsy and fidgeting, the nurse finally returned with the doctor. She had a clipboard in her hands that she was looking over, which she set down when she entered the room._

"_Where's my mom?" Toby asked again. The doctor sighed and pulled up the lone chair next to his bed._

"_Your mother suffered from severe brain hemorrhaging as a result of the accident," she started to explain. "We did everything we could to save her, but she had already lost a lot of blood."_

_Toby's eyes had already begun to fill with tears. He was shaking his head, refusing to believe what the doctor was saying. This was some sick joke._

"_... She was conscious very briefly when she arrived. She wanted you to know that she loves you and that the accident wasn't your fault."_

_Toby wasn't listening anymore. Mick was dead and he didn't even have the chance to say goodbye._

"... So," Tyler awkwardly started when Toby was finished telling his story. "You don't actually have to like…. Kill somebody directly. Like murder."

Toby shook his head. "No. All it takes is an accident. A car wreck, like me, or a bar fight gone wrong, like dad."

"It wasn't just a 'bar fight gone wrong'," Mason intervened. "Jimmy was my friend, not some asshole stranger who was drunk off his ass." He sighed and turned to Tyler. "On every full moon, we lose control. If we don't sedate ourselves and chain ourselves down, we'll kill anything in our path. You have to be careful," Mason stressed. "Any death at your hands and you'll have a lifetime of this. You don't want it, Tyler. Trust me."

"Alright, where's the moonstone?" Mason asked when he was done. "A deal's a deal. We answered your questions."

"I'm not the one who wants that stupid moonstone," Toby reminded. "Sentimental value my ass," he mumbled.

"Watch it," Mason warned as Tyler unlocked his father's safe under the floorboards.

"Why do you really want it anyway?" Tyler questioned. He was watching Mason sift through the papers inside the safe, the weight of the moonstone particularly heavy in his pocket.

"Do you know where it is or not?" Mason snapped. Tyler leaned back a bit, but shook his head.

"No," he lied. "I just figured it would be in here, man."

After Mason left and the safe was locked up again, Tyler came to stand near Toby.

"So, you don't even know what it's for?"

Toby shook his head. "No. I stopped caring when it became apparent he wasn't gonna fill me in. Ever since he started dating his new girlfriend, he's been acting really strange. It's like I'm suddenly out of the loop."

"His girlfriend, is she...?"

"Nah. I think she's just a normal human," Toby lied. He knew Kathy was a vampire; it was easy to smell them out once you got the hang of it. He just didn't want to overwhelm Tyler even more than he already was. "But she's fishy. I don't like her."

Nothing was said between them after that.

**xxxx**

As decided the night prior, Elowen didn't fill Josiah or her mother in on what was happening. She lazily stumbled through the door early the next morning and, not so stealthily, snuck up to her room. Esmeralda was at the door before she could even blink.

"Where the hell have you been?" She asked, her mom voice on. There was no way for her to talk her way out of anything. She was still dressed in pjs and her hair was standing up in multiple areas. It looked like she'd just woken up. She probably had. When Elowen didn't answer, Esmeralda continued her scolding. "I stayed up nearly all night waiting for you to come home! I was worried sick! A call would've at least been nice. I understand that you and Stefan had a fight, but that's no excuse." She paced inside Elowen's bedroom as she ranted, but came to a stop in front of her. Her facial expression had softened and Elowen felt terrible for causing her so much distress.

"You know how I get. I immediately fear the worst, but can you blame me? Your fath- Luis is back and that Katherine character sounds pretty dangerous. I'm just glad you made it home safely." Esmeralda sighed and ran her fingers through Elowen's hair. "Let's just get you ready for you to volunteer today, alright? Joey will be up any minute."

She started for the door, but stopped at the threshold. "You're not off the hook, by the way. Curfew is cut down to 7 until I know you won't pull something like this again. Understood?"

Elowen made a sound of protest, but quieted down when Esmeralda shot a look over her shoulder. In the end, she sighed loudly and mumbled, "Yes, mom."

**xxxx**

Breakfast was quite…. Awkward.

Josiah was obviously trying his best to hold back his ever growing list of questions about what Caroline had told him. Esmeralda wanted to offer her better comfort than she had earlier in the morning, but she wasn't sure if it was a good idea.

They ate breakfast in complete silence and Elowen hated it. She didn't like silence much to begin with; it was always loud in the house as a child from Luis's constant outbursts, so she recognized quiet as too good to be true. It made her uncomfortable and on edge, waiting for the next loud noise to come knocking on their door (however, Stefan and Damon were surprisingly very good at making quiet feel safe and comfortable).

At that exact moment, ironically, was an actual knock at their front door. On a natural instinct, Elowen cringed in her chair. Esmeralda and Josiah exchanged looks that read, 'Are you expecting anybody?'. Another knock sounded throughout the house. Esmeralda rose from her seat and ventured to the door. It barely opened an inch before Caroline pushed her way in.

"Rise and shine, everyone! I've brought breakfast burritos from The Grill, homemade smoothies and lots of granola. Good thing I did. Cereal is _so not_ a filling breakfast." She set everything on the dining table and started clearing away the bowls. "Today is a new day! Let's put tomorrow behind us, shall we?"

Elowen had to crack a smile at Caroline's gesture. It was such a her thing to do in light of dreary events. In this case, a fake breakup.

"I'm also taking the both of you to the volunteer event. I'm not taking no for an answer." She returned after setting the bowls in the sink and caught sight of Elowen. "Elle! You're not even dressed!" She pointed towards the stairs. "Get your butt up to your room and into fresh clothes or else you don't get any."

Elowen rolled her eyes, but there was no real bite in her actions. She pushed herself to her feet and trudged back to her room. When she opened the door, she found Stefan waiting for her on her bed. Quickly, she pushed it closed and lightly pushed Stefan away when he got up to kiss her. She placed a finger to her lips.

"Caroline's here," she mouthed. Stefan looked up intently and listened downstairs. Sure enough, he heard Caroline instructing Esmeralda and Josiah to eat because, 'Breakfast is the most important meal of the day'. Elowen crept back towards the door and cracked it open. When she was sure nobody was coming up the stairs, she grabbed Stefan's hand and rushed towards the bathroom. Once there, she flipped on the fan and the loud motor noise came to life. Stefan grabbed her hips and spun her around so he could plant his lips on hers. He'd lightly pushed her onto the sink so he could kiss her deeper.

Elowen was slightly breathless when she pulled back. Stefan was smiling as he pushed her tangled curls out of her face.

"Hi," he said lowly.

"Hi," she said back.

He helped her off of the sink and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Are you ready for today?"

Elowen shook her head against his shoulder. "No. I hated fighting with you last night, even though it was fake. I don't know if I can trust my actual emotions from getting in the way."

"I know, but those emotions make it more believable. Katherine turned your dad. You have a right to be upset. And if she thinks we're fighting, then she'll think that she's winning. It keeps her from following through with her threats."

"That doesn't make it any easier," she grumbled. "And don't call him that. It's just... not the best feeling knowing Caroline's supposed to be her spy, willingly or not. She's… she's my best friend, Stefan. What am I supposed to do?"

"Hey, everything is gonna turn out okay," Stefan reassured. He took her face in his hands and gently glided the pads of his thumbs over her cheeks. "Yes, we have to keep this ruse up for who knows how long, but right now, it's the best way to keep Katherine from hurting anybody."

"Yeah, but… none of it will ever be real, right?" Elowen asked timidly. "Everything Caroline said from before… it's still true."

"Don't think like that," Stefan lightly chided. "Don't allow Katherine to get in your head. It's what she wants." Except Elowen was still blinking up at him, vulnerable and completely unsure of herself. He sighed loudly and leaned down to plant a kiss on the crown of her head.

"No, none of it will ever be real," he soothed softly. "We'll get there when we get there. If we get there. Who's to say you won't get tired of me and kick me to the curb?"

Elowen grinned at his joke and Stefan smiled widely back at her.

"There's my girl!"

She was giggling when he leaned in again and felt her next wave of laughs vibrate into his mouth. Hearing her laugh again was music to his ears. Then again, her laugh was always music to his ears.

"If it makes you feel any better, we could come up with some sort of code word. Uh," Stefan broke off to quickly think of something. "When we fake fight, and one of us says, 'I can't do this anymore', it means I love you."

"And, if one of us says, 'Fine, whatever', it means I love you, too," Elowen finished. Stefan ran his fingers through her hair one last time (they briefly got stuck in her curls and he had to do his best to not tug on her hair and hurt her).

"Then, it's settled." His eyes darted towards the bathroom door. "I should get going. We don't want Caroline getting suspicious because you're taking too long."

"Good idea."

Stefan leaned down for a goodbye kiss and lingered longer than he should have.

"I'll see you in a bit. Love you."

"You mean, I can't do this anymore," Elowen reminded.

"Right. Fine, whatever."

Both of them smiled at one another as Stefan opened the bathroom door. When the coast was clear, he zoomed back down the hall to her bedroom window. Directly after he left, Caroline's voice rang out.

"Elle! What the hell!" A pause. "Josiah, stop laughing! I don't care that it rhymed." There was a sound that might've been a huff before footsteps were heard climbing up the stairs. "I can't believe I have to do everything around here."

Caroline appeared in the bathroom doorway. "Aaand you're not even dressed. Of course." She took hold of Elowen's wrist and pulled her back in the direction of her room. "Let's go, missy. If we're late, I'm _so_ blaming it on you."

**xxxx**

"Hey," Toby greeted as he approached Elowen. She smiled at the sight of him and handed over a lone paint brush.

"Hey!"

Toby cleared his throat and used grabbing the brush as a way to lean closer. "Listen, I'm sure you had nothing to do with it, but do you think you can keep your boyfriend on a leash? No pun intended."

Elowen furrowed her eyebrows. Her hand motions from painting slowly came to a stop so she could give her full attention to Toby. "Huh? What are you talking about? What did Stefan do?"

"... You mean you don't know?"

At Elowen's confused head shake, Toby took a quick glance around. If it were possible, he lowered his voice even more.

"I'm talking about the other one, Damon. He attacked my dad last night after the barbecue. Stabbed him with a _silver_ knife and had quite the surprise when he realized it didn't work."

Elowen clenched her teeth and threw her paint brush on the table at this piece of news. Needless to say, she was pissed.

"Goddamnit! I told him to stay away from you guys." She caught sight of Damon and Stefan talking amongst themselves as Mason walked off with a box in his hands. "Don't worry, I'll keep him on a leash, alright."

"... please tell me you don't seriously think a handshake just solved our problem," Damon was saying to Stefan with an eye roll.

"No, actually, I think that the first chance Mason Lockwood gets, he's gonna drive a stake through your heart and then through mine," Stefan stated honestly. "All because you took it upon yourself to try and kill him, even after Elowen specifically asked you not to." His eyes flickered to something behind Damon and judging by the self satisfied smirk on his face, Damon knew he was in deep shit. Stefan clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck, brother. I may or may not see you later."

Stefan wasn't even gone for one second before Damon felt nails digging into his arm. He was whirled around and came face to face with a very, very, _very_ angry Elowen. She was seething and if Damon didn't know any better, he would say that he could see steam coming out of her ears.

"What the literal _fuck_, Damon? I asked you not to hurt, maim, attempt to, or kill Mason or Toby. What part of that did you not understand?"

While Damon usually was unbothered by attitude, getting yelled at or any type of negative emotion being directed at him, he had a hard time not flinching. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen Elowen so upset, which was saying something, considering he was a dick.

"Is it really that fucking hard for you to not do something stupid? To not try to kill someone? To listen when I tell you not to touch my friend and his dad when they're not causing any trouble or harm?" She had to stop and take a breath before she forgot how to breathe. She tried to collect her thoughts while she was at it, but had absolutely no luck at all.

"How the fuck am I supposed to trust you, give you a chance at anything _remotely_ romantic, if you're just gonna continue to pull this shit?" Elowen took a step towards Damon and dropped her voice. "I might be fake fighting with Stefan, but I'm certainly not fake fighting with you. You're lucky we have to put up a front that you're the supportive, _substitute_ boyfriend," she stressed, watching as Damon's eyes flashed with what she assumed was hurt or insecurity. "Or else we wouldn't be talking right now. Got it?"

"Loud and clear," Damon replied with a tight voice.

"Good."

**xxxx**

Josiah and Jeremy were hanging out at The Grill. Caroline just about begged on her knees for Josiah to come with her and at first he was, but then Jeremy texted him asking if he wanted to chill and he couldn't just say no. Their friendship was still a bit rocky after the whole Anna thing and he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to try and fix it.

Tyler was sitting at a table on his own nearby and Jeremy kept glancing over at him. It was enough to make Josiah suspicious. Before he could ask, Jeremy was packing his things up and approaching Tyler. Josiah was left scrambling to follow.

"Hey, man. How have you been?" Jeremy asked when he reached Tyler. Naturally, Tyler got defensive, because when did he not?

"Since when?"

Josiah rolled his eyes as he caught up. "Can you just, for once, I dunno, chill out? It must get really tiring to not have any friends."

Tyler opened his mouth to no doubt shoot back some sort of snarky comment, but Jeremy quickly beat him to it.

"Look, I just haven't seen you around much since your father's funeral." Jeremy shot a side glare to Josiah and elbowed him in the side to shut him up. He almost forgot how much of a mouth him and Elowen had. "I just figured maybe you'd want…" He wanted to say, 'a friend', but really, who was he kidding? Josiah had been right.

"I'm fine, Gilbert," Tyler declined. Jeremy nodded, dejected, but started to turn to walk away.

"Yeah, okay."

Except, once they had their backs turned, Tyler glanced at Josiah. He had to admit that it did get kinda lonely sometimes, constantly pushing people away unless their name was Matt Donovan, but even then, he still had a tendency to fuck it up. After all, he did make out with his mom that one time. He sighed and opened his mouth again.

"Wait, hold up," he called out. "I'm sorry. Bad day, bad month." He waited for both Jeremy and Josiah to face him again before continuing. "Both of you were cool that day, at the wake. Thanks for that. I felt like some kind of freak show."

Jeremy and Josiah exchanged looks.

"Yeah, we know the feeling well," Josiah replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Distracting myself."

Immediately after saying that, Aimee and another girl Josiah didn't recognize met Tyler at his table.

"Hey, thanks for the text," Aimee said. "Where to?"

"My place," Tyler answered. "My mom is gone all day. Empty house, fully stocked bar…"

"Margaritas?" Aimee asked hopefully.

"Sure."

After a pause, Tyler looked to Josiah and Jeremy. He nodded at them.

"You guys in?"

"Yeah," Jeremy nodded before Josiah could say anything. "Yeah, we're in."

**xxxx**

"... so, suddenly, she's in the running for Mother of the Year when I'm trying to avoid her the most," Caroline was saying. "I'm babbling. You don't want to hear any of this."

Elowen blinked and looked down at Caroline, who was squatting down on the ground. They were painting a veranda that would probably be used for picnics when this was all said and done and Caroline chose to tackle the bottom half.

"Oh, no, sorry," she apologized. "Then what happened?"

"Well, I was a bitch, which is par for the course with us." Caroline loudly cleared her throat as she stood back onto her feet. "So, how are things with you and Stefan? Anything?"

"No," Elowen answered shortly. She kept her attention on painting the pillar of the veranda. "Why would there be? He made it very clear that he'd rather let Katherine dictate his life, even though she's the one who destroyed it in the first place."

"Well… are you sure you've got the whole story? I mean-"

"Oh, I've gotten the whole story, alright," Elowen cut her off with a bite to her tone. "She forced him to stay in a relationship with her after he found out she was a vampire in order to, 'take his pain away' and _then_ forced him to drink her blood without his knowledge. She practically forced him to turn, Caroline!"

Caroline widened her eyes and lunged forward to cover Elowen's mouth. "Not so loud!"

Elowen shook her head away from Caroline and swatted her hand away. "Excuse me for being sick and tired of being told what to do or how to feel. Yes, she's dangerous and yes, she's an obsessive, psychotic ex girlfriend, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm not willing to throw in the towel, but Stefan is." She tightly gripped her paint brush and had to take a deep breath to stop herself from getting emotional. "It's just…"

"Just what?"

"It feels like giving up. After everything I've been through and all the shit that's happened in my life, I'm done giving up. Stefan knows that. It just feels like a slap to the face."

**xxxx**

"Oh, no," Caroline mumbled. "Longing looks are being exchanged."

They were still painting, but Stefan had been assigned to a project just across from them. Elowen had glanced over first. They made brief eye contact before Stefan dropped what he was doing and started to walk over.

"Uh, oh," Elowen heard Caroline mutter to herself. "Broody Salvatore coming this way."

"Listen, can we talk?" He asked when he made it over. Damon came out of who knows where and protectively stood in front of Elowen.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, baby brother."

Stefan and Damon stared each other down in one of their usual, 'I'm the better brother', showdowns, but Elowen interrupted it by nudging Damon out of the way.

"It's okay, Damon."

He looked down at Elowen with that worried crinkle he'd get on his forehead sometimes.

"Are you sure?"

Elowen nodded her head. "Yeah."

They walked over to a more secluded area where nobody was and stood silently in front of each other. Finally, Elowen crossed her arms and sighed loudly.

"What do you want, Stefan?"

"I just… I want to explain myself."

Elowen shrugged aloofly. "Okay. Explain."

Stefan cleared his throat and glanced over at Damon and Caroline. They were, very unstealthily, listening in on their conversation. When they realized they'd been caught, both of them quickly occupied themselves with something to do until Stefan looked away.

"I'm not doing this to hurt you," Stefan started. "Katherine threatened you and I don't know what else to do. She's older than me, Elle. Stronger than me…. Smarter than me," he added at the end. "You've gotta understand."

"Understand what?" Elowen questioned emotionlessly. "That you're still her little bitch despite claiming that you're not?"

They could both _hear_ Damon's stupid smirk from where they were standing. A quick glare in his direction sent him rushing to busy himself again.

Stefan shook his head. "You're reaching. I'm not her… her 'little bitch' and I never was. She just compelled me to be. What part of that did you not get?"

"Then why did you keep her picture, Stefan?" Elowen shot back. Stefan grimaced. Katherine had asked the same exact thing. She was waiting for him to answer, but scoffed and rolled her eyes when she didn't get one. "You have shit to sort out. Come back when you're finished."

"Elle, wait-" Stefan reached out for her arm, but she pushed it away before it could even touch her. She saw Damon step forward from the corner of her eye, but shot him a look that read, 'stand down'.

"You might think you're protecting me, but you of all people should know that I can protect myself just fine. I did it then and I can do it now." Elowen sighed. "Y'know what? I can't do this anymore, Stefan. I think it's best if you just leave."

"You heard her, brother," Damon said as he swooped in. He stood close to Elowen, but not to where he was standing in front of her like last time. He wanted it to seem like he was proving to Stefan that she could stand her own ground.

Stefan looked between Damon and Elowen. After a few moments, he started to back away.

"Fine, whatever."

When he was gone, Damon turned to Elowen and carefully lifted her chin up so she would look at him.

"You okay?" He asked quietly. Elowen swallowed and nodded her head.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she brushed off. She pulled herself away from Damon's touch and stepped back. "I'm gonna go finish helping Caroline."

"Relationships are about communication, Wen," Damon called out before she got too far away. Elowen stopped where she was. "Are you absolutely sure you're okay?"

She stood there for a long while before she said anything. "No," she whispered truthfully. Damon knew her answer was for real and started to head for her, but she was already walking off. He slowly came to a stop and watched as she picked up her paint brush and resumed her work as if nothing had happened.

Him and Caroline made eye contact and nodded at each other, a silent message being exchanged.

_Keep an eye on her._

**xxxx**

Josiah, Tyler, Jeremy, Sarah and Aimee were hanging out around the bar inside the Lockwood Mansion. If Josiah were still the person he was two years ago, he probably would've already been drunk and making out with somebody because, trust me, he wouldn't have been the type of person Caroline would've liked. Except, he wasn't the person he was two years ago, so instead, he was sitting by himself on the couch with a soda on the table in front of him.

"Come on, Josiah!" Sarah danced her way over to him and nudged him with a playful hand. "We're here to party, not wallow around with a can of sprite." She glanced down and saw the sketch book on his lap and snatched it up before he could stop her. "Oooh, what do we have here?"

"I wanna see!" Aimee excitedly hopped over and huddled over Sarah's shoulder. Sarah flipped away from the work in progress drawing that Josiah had been working on and landed on a page that had a sketch of town square. It had an abstract, almost whimsical feel to it and made town square look dark and ominous. Sarah regarded it with a tilt of her head.

"Post-apocalyptic Mystic Falls," she mused. "I like it."

"That's a much better compliment than what I was about to say," Aimee snorted. "'It looks deserted."

Sarah laughed and flitted through the pages again before it landed on a new drawing. This time, it was a normal drawing of Caroline. She was mid-laugh, her head thrown back and her hair splayed across her face. Sarah hummed.

"Got a crush on Forbes, Josiah?" She teased. Tyler, Jeremy and even Aimee exchanged looks behind her back. Did she really not know? Even after Aimee hinted to her that he was taken? Josiah stood and took his sketchbook back.

"Well, I'd hope so," he answered as he closed it and set it on the table. "She is my girlfriend, after all."

The flirty smile on her face disappeared at this piece of news. She cleared her throat.

"Oh. Well, it was a good drawing."

"Thanks." Josiah picked up his soda and took a sip. He nodded at Jeremy. "You got anything new?"

Jeremy widened his eyes and shook his head, trying to signal Josiah to not say anything, but it was too late. Sarah gaped and skipped over to Jeremy's bag. She fished out his sketchbook and quickly dodged her way out of Jeremy's hold.

"Another artist? It's like show and tell in here."

She opened it and instantly furrowed her eyebrows. She flipped the book around to show the drawing to everyone else. It pictured a wolf man snarling under a full moon. Tyler became visibly uncomfortable, but Josiah didn't notice as his own eyes widened. He hadn't told him about Mason or Toby, so who had?

"Scary demon wolf thing?" Sarah asked uncertainly. She skimmed through the rest of the book and saw that that was all it was filled with. "You got a werewolf fetish, Jeremy?"

It was Tyler's turn to seize the sketchbook and flip through the rest of the pages. There was a type of frantic movement to his page turning and Josiah didn't blame him.

"What's this about?" He asked Jeremy, turning back to him. Jeremy shrugged.

"Just some sketches," he answered nonchalantly. "You still draw, Tyler?"

"A little, but not much," Tyler managed to reply. "Y'know, I've got something I'm actually working on. Come on, I'll show you."

Josiah felt worry bubble up in his chest as he watched the two walk off. He set his soda back on the table and gestured out of the room.

"I've gotta use the restroom. Be right back."

Once he was out of sight, Josiah got to work in finding which room Tyler and Jeremy had gone into. It didn't actually take long. He just followed the sound of a loud ruckus that sounded through the hallway and found himself in front of what was probably Mayor Lockwood's office. Josiah nearly burst through the door just as he heard Jeremy say, "I know what you are."

"You've got it all wrong," he blurted. "He's not a werewolf. Not yet."


	10. Chapter 10

"Please tell me that you were bonding."

Elowen had seen Mason and Damon talking and had practically dropped what she was doing in order to make her way over.

"Nice job earlier," Damon said instead. "_Very_ believable. You should become an actress."

"Yeah, you get pretty good at putting up an act when it's a method of survival. You should know."

Damon sighed and looked down at Elowen with those baby blue eyes of his and searched hers with his own.

"Look, I really am sorry, okay?" He apologized. "I've got a lot to… de-learn. Old habits die hard."

"Would you like some lemonade?" The little girl at the stand next to them asked. She was already holding a cup out to Damon, who took hold of it.

"Thank you, sweetie."

Before he could lift it to his lips, Elowen swiftly grabbed it out of his hands.

"I'll take that," she said before gulping it down in one go. She handed Damon back the now empty plastic cup, who watched her wipe her mouth with the back of her hand with uncertainty.

"You're particularly thirsty."

"Vervain," she told him. "They spiked it."

Damon lifted the cup to his nose and sniffed at it. Sure enough, he could smell it. Crushing the cup in his hands, he threw it to the ground.

"Mason. He tried to set me up. I'm gonna-"

"You're gonna what, Damon?"

Damon caught his breath and tried to calm down. He gently took hold of her shoulders and led her away from the crowd.

"Wen, he's making threats. Trying to expose us. Something's gotta be done."

"You're right," she admitted. "But do we really need to retaliate with violence? I'll get Toby to talk to him."

"_Wen_," Damon stressed. "I know Toby is your friend, but who's to say he isn't in on it? I attacked his dad. He's gotta want to at least see me get decked in the face."

Elowen immediately started to shake her head. "No. No way. Toby wouldn't do that. I know him-"

"You haven't seen him in, what, two years?" Damon asked. "Three? The death of a parent can change you. I would know."

Elowen blinked up at Damon. What? He hated Giuseppe. He was probably glad when Stefan killed him, accidental or not. But, she caught sight of a mom and her baby son playing a few feet away and it clicked. He lost his mom. Sighing, Elowen slowly nodded her head.

"Okay, fine. Something has to be done. But, I'm coming with. I'm not taking no for an answer."

Damon caught sight of Mason heading into the woods over her shoulder and nodded his head. "Alright. You wait over there. I'll get Stefan."

Mason was only half surprised when Elowen intervened. He should've known she would know about the vervain. Toby filled him in enough about her powers. Liz approached him after the lemonade scheme failed.

"What now?"

He had glanced at the trashbags laying on the ground near them. "I have an idea. Get some of your men together and trail me. If they follow me, that'll be enough confirmation. Trust me."

When Elowen saw Stefan and Damon coming towards her, she ventured farther into the woods. It would be better if nobody saw her go in with the both of them. They easily caught up to her and they found Mason shortly after.

"Don't look so surprised," Damon drawled tauntingly. "You knew this was inevitable. Go ahead, run. I'll give you a headstart."

Instead, Mason crouched down and ducked. Shots rang out before either of the three could react. They hit Stefan first. When he went down, Damon widened his eyes and tried to push Elowen out of the way, but was hit as well.

"Get out of here," he rasped before being shot again. Elowen, slightly hyperventilating, was having a hard time processing everything fast enough. As Damon fell, unconscious, she finally had half of a brain to try and run, but another gunshot sounded and she stopped dead.

Glancing down, she saw blood quickly seeping through her shirt where her stomach was. She pressed her hand against it and pulled away, feeling the sticky liquid cling to her skin. Slowly, she fell to her knees. Before she completely tipped over, she looked up and saw Mason watching her expressionlessly. It was like he had no problem with the fact that bullets could really hurt her.

One last gunshot rang out, as if whoever this was was unsatisfied with the fact that she hadn't passed out yet and a bullet hit her in the shoulder. Finally, Elowen's eyes drooped and she crashed onto the ground.

"Thank you, Mason," Liz acknowledged him with a nod. The two deputies that were with them crouched down and injected Stefan, Damon and Elowen with vervain. Liz noticed that blood was still painting Elowen's clothes and paused.

"You're sure about Elowen?" Liz asked. She was skeptical about her being a vampire. Then again, she had been skeptical about Stefan and Damon, too, but here they were. Mason nodded his head.

"Yeah," he lied. "She's their little pet girlfriend. Of course they've turned her by now."

**xxxx**

"How do you two know about this?" Tyler asked. Him, Jeremy and Josiah were sitting on the chairs in the room. They made sure the doors to the office were closed so Sarah and Aimee wouldn't overhear.

"My uncle John left this old diary lying around," Jeremy lied. Josiah knew he had to be. "It was written by a crazy Gilbert ancestor who wrote about this curse that ran in your family."

"A curse about what?"

"Werewolves," Jeremy replied as if it were obvious. Tyler glanced at Josiah.

"And you? How do you know?"

Josiah hesitated and started stuttering. Great, how was he supposed to explain this? He was such an idiot. Jeremy was even trying to think of some lie to help him, but he soon realized it was impossible, too.

_Fuck it_, Josiah thought. _If this doesn't go well, I could always make him forget_. Clearing his throat, he turned his full attention to Tyler. "This is gonna sound crazy, but I'm not sure how much more crazy this can get for you. I'm a witch."

Tyler leaned back and stumbled out of his seat. "Whoa, whoa, _what_? A witch? You're serious?"

"Yeah, he is," Jeremy answered.

"You mean, you know about this?"

Jeremy nodded his head. Tyler rubbed at his face and took a deep breath.

"Alright, I guess if werewolves exist, witches aren't too far off. So, you know about the rest of the, the 'curse', right?" He asked. Josiah nodded. Tyler let out a breath. "Okay. Cool. There's nothing else I should know, then?"

Tyler felt a huge weight being lifted off of his shoulders when Josiah shook his head. Jeremy looked between the two, completely lost.

"What? What is it? Am I missing something? Is it true or not?"

"It's true for my uncle and Toby," Tyler started to explain. "According to them both, you have to trigger it. Somebody has to die at your hands, like a murder, or an accident or something. I basically have to cause death and then boom. Next full moon, I'm howling on all fours."

"Is that why he came back?" Jeremy questioned. "To tell you this?"

Tyler snorted. "Yeah, right. I had to force him to tell me. I caught him. He's not here for me." Tyler pulled the moonstone out of his pocket and held it up for Josiah and Jeremy to see. "He's here for this. Whatever 'this' is."

**xxxx**

"It's down the stairs and to the left," Mason instructed. The two deputies carrying Stefan and Damon went down, while Mason and Liz stayed at the top. He had Elowen slung over his shoulder, very aware of the fact that she was still bleeding and that blood was getting all over his clothes.

"Careful," Liz told her deputies. "The wooden bullets and vervain won't keep them down for long. What is this place?"

"Old slave quarters from the original Lockwood house," Mason replied as he followed after the deputies. He laid Elowen in between Stefan and Damon and stepped back. Liz saw the blood coating his hands and brushed it off as the blood that hadn't dried up already.

"Thank you, Mason. I appreciate all you've done. We got it from here."

"You're gonna kill them, right?" Mason asked.

"Yes. That's why you should go. Here it's the Council, not the law. You can't be a party to this. It's for your own protection."

"Liz, I don't care about…" Mason started to say, but Liz shook her head.

"Yes, but I do. I'm not asking. Goodbye, Mason."

Liz and her deputies had their guns at the ready once he left, for when one of them woke up. Damon opened his eyes first. Liz shot him in the leg at the first sign of movement.

"This is how this is going to work," she told him. "Answer me and you won't get shot, understood? How many of you are there?"

"Liz, please," Damon begged hoarsely. Liz shot him again, this time in the other leg. Damon yelled and leaned over in a futile attempt to get away. Instead, he came face to face with Elowen and blanched.

"How did you fool us?" Liz demanded. "How do you walk in the sun?"

"No, no, no," Damon mumbled. He tried to make a grab for Elowen, but Liz shot him again. He screamed through gritted teeth, but fought through the pain to check her pulse. He was relieved to feel one, no matter how weak.

"Please, you've got to get her out of here," he pleaded. Liz lifted her gun to shoot again, but Damon quickly continued to speak. "You don't understand. She's not a vampire. If you don't get her help now, she'll die."

"That's a lie," Liz denied. "Mason said she was. He was right about you two. He wouldn't put an innocent girl's life on the line."

"Please!" Damon was almost sobbing and it made Liz falter. "Can't you see that she's still bleeding? If she were a vampire, she would've healed by now." He caught sight of the bottle of vervain attached to the nearby deputies belt. "The vervain. Pour it on her and you'll see it won't affect her."

Liz hesitated before finally nodding at the deputy. He pulled the bottle off and poured a small amount on her exposed arm. Nothing happened. Realizing Damon was right, Liz started to panic.

"Oh my god. But Mason, he said-"

"I don't care what Mason said!" Damon snapped as loudly as he could. "Either hurry up and get her to a hospital or let me heal her. Do whatever you want to me, but let her die and I swear to god I will kill you."

Liz put her gun away and hastily started to lift Elowen into a sitting position. "Radio for help. Now."

One of the deputies started to nod, but there was a loud creaking noise that echoed throughout the room. The other deputy went to check it out, but Elena hit him over the head with a plank and ran into the cell. She stopped short at the sight of Elowen. Caroline had said she was with them and probably injured, not shot and bleeding out.

"Sheriff Forbes, Elowen isn't one of them!" She cried as she ran towards them. "You've gotta let her go!"

Before anything else could be said, the cell door closed on its own. Caroline sped around them a couple of times, closed in on one of the lone deputies and bit into his neck. The second deputy shot at her, but Caroline used the first deputy as a shield, so the bullets hit him instead. When he stopped shooting, she sped at him next and knocked him to the ground. She bit into his neck next. Finally, she lifted her head and revealed her face to Liz.

"Hi, mom," she meekly greeted.

**xxxx**

The first thing Damon did was bite into his wrist and feed Elowen his blood. He didn't bother healing himself or make sure Stefan was okay.

"Come on, come on," he was muttering to himself. "Wake up, Wen." He'd been coaxing blood down her throat for a long while now and he was starting to worry that he was too late. The only thing keeping him hopeful was the shallow beat of her heart that he was just barely able to hear.

"I'm so sorry," he heard Liz say from somewhere in the cell. "If I'd know she wasn't a-"

"You, shut up," Damon barked. Liz instantly went quiet. By this point, Elena had woken Stefan up. When he saw Elowen laying limp on Damon's lap with blood covering her clothes, he rushed over as fast as his body would let him go.

"Is she…?"

"No."

Stefan breathed a loud sigh of relief.

"But, she's barely alive. She's gonna need a lot of blood."

Another few slow, antagonizing minutes ticked by before Elowen finally took a harsh, but strong and steady, breath in. Everyone in the room let out audible sighs. It wasn't until her eyes fluttered open that Damon took his wrist away from her mouth.

"What happened?" She asked, voice scratchy and ragged.

"You almost died, that's what happened," Damon replied. He reached down and pulled a wooden bullet out of his leg with a grunt. "Mason convinced Liz that you were a vampire like us."

"What?" She blurted in surprise. His unbothered expression from earlier flashed through her head. "He was really about to let me die to make sure you were killed," she spat with disgust.

"Do I have permission to kill him now?" Damon asked as he pulled out another bullet.

There was a really long pause as Elowen thought this over. He had just tried to kill them. He almost succeeded. Damon had just thrown another wooden bullet on the ground and glanced over when she hadn't said anything yet. Everyone was watching her for her answer. Finally, she opened her mouth.

"... If that's what it has to come to, yes."

**xxxx**

"What am I gonna do with you?" Damon pondered to himself as he approached Liz. He'd gotten all the bullets out with Elowen's help and had drank from one of the deputies to expedite his healing. He was feeling pretty great now.

"You won't tell anyone, will you? Mom? Mom?" Caroline asked quickly when she got no response. She went into a very fast, very Caroline word vomit speech. "Look, I know that we don't get along and that you hate me, but I'm your daughter and you'll do this for me, right? Mom, please. He'll kill you."

"Then let him kill me," Liz replied without a doubt.

"No!" Caroline pleaded.

"I can't take this." Liz shook her head. "Kill me now."

Damon bent down to her eye level and tilted his head. "But you were gonna drag it out _so_ painfully." He suddenly grabbed her roughly and pulled her to her feet.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Caroline shouted as she stood up as well.

"Damon, don't!" Stefan warned, but he ignored him and even Elena's pleas.

"Damon, you wouldn't dare," Elowen said sharply. Damon turned his glare on Liz to a regular gaze on Elowen. He released Liz.

"Relax. Nobody is killing anyone." While he'd addressed the whole room, he kept his eyes on Elowen. He wanted her to know that it had been an empty threat. He looked back at Liz. "You're my friend," he told her sincerely. He looked around the room at the dead deputies.

"We've got to clean this up."

**xxxx**

"What is it?" Jeremy asked as he studied the stone Tyler had pulled out.

"It's a moonstone," Josiah answered. "Just a natural rock with no supernatural attributes to it. It gets used in rituals sometimes, though."

"God, it's so weird just hearing you say that," Tyler commented. "It has quite a few legends and myths attached to it, though, doesn't it? That's what I read."

"Oh, yeah, totally," Josiah confirmed. "Most claim that it's either a sacred stone or a good luck charm."

"So, why didn't you give it to him?" Jeremy questioned.

"Because he wants it," Tyler replied. He shrugged. "I'm a dick that way. It's important to him for some reason, but I don't trust the guy. I'm not just gonna hand it over to him."

Aimee and Sarah burst through the door a second later, both drunk and giggling loudly.

"Found you!" Sarah announced.

"You guys are missing all the drinking." Aimee pouted.

"Oh, we're sorry. Were you guys having a moment?" Sarah teased. She spotted the moonstone in Tyler's hand. "What's that?"

"It's…" Tyler started to answer, but Sarah scooped it up. "Whoa, hey."

"Pretty," Aimee noted as she looked it over. She'd taken it from Sarah and was holding it up to the light.

"Okay, let's not play with the rock." Tyler got up and reached out for it. "Give it back."

"Well, come and get it," Aimee said playfully as her and Sarah ran from the room.

"Look, I'll play along for a little bit, but seriously, give it back," Tyler told them. He caught up to Aimee and pried open her hand, but discovered it was empty.

"Lookie here," he heard Sarah call. He turned and found her waving the stone at him from the top of the stairs. "Snooze, you lose."

"You're lucky," Tyler uttered as he climbed the stairs after her. "You're cute when you're drunk."

"I want Josiah to come get it," Sarah flirtily stated.

"Gimme a break." Tyler rolled his eyes. "You know he's with Caroline."

"Sarah, don't be a bad drunk," Aimee warned from downstairs.

"Josiah, come upstairs with me." Apparently, Sarah couldn't get it through her head that Josiah wasn't into her. "See how bad of a drunk I can be."

"I'm good, thanks," Josiah uncomfortably declined. Tyler reached Sarah and attempted to take the stone back. She refused to and he struggled with her a bit, but managed to get it back. Sarah tripped and fell down the stairs, her head hitting the ground with a loud smack. She laid there, motionless.

"Sarah!"

"Sarah, oh my god!"

Both Jeremy and Aimee dove down to check on Sarah, but Josiah and Tyler were staring in panic. Their eyes met and knew they were both thinking the same thing.

"She's not moving," Aimee declared. "Oh my god."

Sarah opened her eyes and started to laugh. "I fooled you."

"Oh my god," Aimee breathed with relief.

"That wasn't a funny prank to pull, Sarah." Josiah shook his head. "You could've seriously been hurt."

"Oh, stop being such a debbie downer. He pushed me down the stairs!"

"He didn't mean it, okay?" Jeremy spoke up. "You got her?" He asked Aimee, who helped Sarah to her feet. Together, they went back to the bar and left Tyler, Jeremy and Josiah alone, all of them still reeling from the close call.

**xxxx**

"Hey, sorry that took so long," Caroline apologized as she entered the boarding house. She had a suitcase in her hands and had definitely not packed light. Typical Caroline.

"Look, are you guys sure you don't just want me to use the spell?" Elowen asked. "It'll be so much faster and not as tedious."

"We've been over this," Stefan reminded as he came up behind her. They'd gotten Elena to go home and Josiah was on his way. None of them would be surprised if Esmeralda was in tow. "It's too risky. We can't let Liz know witches exist."

"But, she wouldn't even remember any of it!" Elowen argued. "That's the whole point!"

"No," Stefan replied firmly. "And that's final."

Elowen sighed in defeat (again) and stepped to the side so he could take the suitcase from Caroline.

"We should get this downstairs."

"Are you feeling better now?" Caroline questioned. "I mean, you got some bunny in you, right?"

Stefan chuckled. "Yeah, I'm doing a lot better now. Don't worry about me."

The three of them ventured down into the basement and made it to the cell. Liz and Damon's voices were floating out into the hallway and it was hard to not overhear them.

"Can you keep Caroline away from me please?" Caroline stopped in her tracks at her mom's words. They were just outside the door now. "I don't wanna see her."

"She's your daughter, Liz," Damon tried, but Liz shook her head.

"Not anymore. My daughter's gone."

"You have no idea how wrong you are about that," Damon said seriously. He looked up and caught Caroline's gaze at the door. Tears were welling up in her eyes and she turned and rushed off. Elowen let out a loud, angry breath from her nose. She grabbed the suitcase and threw it carelessly at Liz. It landed at her feet and startled her to the point that she jumped back on the cot and drew her legs away.

"You're a sorry excuse for a mother, you know that?" She seethed, turned on her heel and then ran after Caroline. Liz was left gaping, appalled. She looked to Damon for some sort of explanation, backup, help, anything, but, he merely shrugged and took a seat opposite of her.

Stefan had followed Elowen in her (not much of a) search for Caroline, but stopped as he passed the fridge he knew contained Damon's stash. He went over and opened it, revealing the multiple blood bags inside. He took one in his hands just as Elowen came back down.

"Stefan, I think it might be best if we took… what are you doing?"

"Katherine took a little vervain everyday and built up a tolerance to it," Stefan explained. "I could do the same with blood. I could learn to control myself on it."

Elowen cautiously approached Stefan. "Okay…. Do you think you can handle that? Learning to control it hasn't worked out in the past."

"I almost died tonight, Elowen!" He exclaimed, turning to face her, blood bag in hand. Her natural reaction was to cower and put distance between them. "_You_ almost died tonight." His voice was much quieter, much more vulnerable and his whole body had deflated. "Because I was too weak. I couldn't help you. I was laying there, right next to you and I had absolutely no idea until I woke up and saw you half dead in Damon's arms."

Elowen did her best to bring herself out of her dark spot and forced herself to finish walking towards Stefan. She carefully took the blood bag out of his hands, placed it back in the fridge and closed the lid. "I understand where you're coming from, believe me. I just don't want you putting yourself in a dangerous situation because you feel like you're no help. The last time you drank human blood, Amber Bradley was hospitalized."

"I told you I'd find a way to stop Katherine, didn't I?" Stefan recalled. "Well, this is it. This is the only way, because she's stronger than me. Unless that changes, I can't protect you."

"Stefan, I told you, I don't need to be protected." She lowered her voice so Caroline wouldn't hear. "That's the one fake argument that wasn't fake."

"I know, but-"

"I've learned how to handle myself after everything Luis put me through. I know that I'm pretty fragile and I break easy, but I'm good at pretending and when you pretend long enough, it becomes real." Elowen reached up and cupped Stefan's face. "Am I scared of what she could do? Sure. But, I don't need a babysitter. I'm not some useless human."

Stefan sighed. "You're right," he muttered. "But… that doesn't mean this isn't the best course of action."

Elowen ran her thumb across Stefan's cheek. "We'll talk about this later, okay? Caroline needs a friend right now."

"I understand." Stefan leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Go."

It wasn't that difficult to find Caroline. She was sitting alone on the couch, crying to herself. Elowen carefully crept towards her and stopped a little ways away.

"I think it's best if I take you home, Care," she suggested quietly. Caroline sniffled and shook her head.

"I can't go home."

Elowen furrowed her eyebrows slightly. "Why not?"

"Because I'm scared."

"Why are you scared?" Elowen questioned. She moved closer and took a seat in the chair across from her. "You know you can talk to me, Caroline."

"Katherine's gonna be there and she's gonna want me to tell her everything that happened today," Caroline confessed in one breath. "She told me I had to spy on you and report back to her."

"... I know," Elowen admitted. "And I wanted to be mad at you, but I knew that she must've threatened your life or somebody else's, because that's what Katherine does. You wouldn't betray us like this otherwise. I know you wouldn't."

"My mom!" Caroline sobbed. "She threatened my mom and Josiah. I know she must hate me now, but I didn't want my mom to die. And Josiah- I love him, Elle. I would do anything for him. I'm so scared of her! I am so, _so _scared of her."

"And you should be, Care," Elowen agreed. "We all should be."

"Why is she doing this?" Caroline asked, wiping tears away with the back of her hand. "What does she want?"

Elowen shrugged one shoulder with a shake of her head. "I wish I knew." She got up from her chair and came over to tightly embrace Caroline. The front door opened and Elowen and Caroline looked up. Josiah and Esmeralda were standing in the archway and, at the sight of the two, wordlessly walked over and joined them in their hug.

**xxxx**

"Caroline's sleeping on the couch," Elowen informed Damon when he came up from the cellar. Josiah was currently wrapping a blanket around Caroline, who was using Esmeralda's lap as a pillow. Esmeralda didn't mind one bit, gently stroking her hair as she slept.

"I heard, and you?" He was hoping that maybe she was staying the night again. Those nights he cherished. Not just because he got to wake up next to her, but also because he could do it without the guilt of taking her away from Stefan. Because he knew that she was happy being snuggled between the two of them without their usual, idiotic sibling rivalry getting in the way. And if she was happy, then he was happy, too.

"I'm going home," she replied, much to Damon's dismay. "I don't really have a say. Mom said it wasn't up for discussion."

Damon's lips quirked up as he glanced up at Esmeralda. She was lucky to have such an amazing woman for a mom, as much as she probably still didn't like him. He sighed and looked back down at Elowen. "Stefan didn't drink the people blood, if you were curious," he told her. "But, he needs to."

Elowen gave a small nod. "I know," she muttered back. "I just wanted him to make sure it was him who wanted to do it, not Katherine indirectly influencing him."

Damon reached up and tucked a piece of her curls behind her ear. "Yeah," he whispered. "I get it." He nodded towards the library. "He's in there."

'I'll be right back,' Elowen mouthed to her mom as to not wake Caroline. Esmeralda nodded and let her go as she passed by. She carefully walked into the room and saw Stefan seated on the couch.

"You can come in," he mumbled. She stepped farther in.

"Are you positive you want to do this?" She asked.

"Yeah, I am." He nodded. He hadn't looked up from the coffee table, which made Elowen much more careful.

"And you're sure you can control it?"

Stefan shrugged. "I don't know, but if I don't try…"

Elowen exhaled through her mouth and pushed her curls from her face. "Alright. A little bit everyday," she muttered to herself, but of course Stefan heard. He must've thought it was directed to him, because he started to respond.

"Yeah. Just a few drops of blood in my system. I think it's worth trying."

Except he was so busy talking that he didn't notice Elowen rolling up the sleeve of her sweater. It wasn't until she was seated next to him, her arm extended, that he realized what was happening.

"What are you doing?" He asked uncertainly.

"I'm not letting you go through this alone, Stefan," Elowen declared. "You'll learn control much better if you practice on somebody alive." She offered her arm out farther. "I trust you."

There was a heavy pause as Stefan stared at her wrist. Ever so slowly, he took hold of her forearm and lifted it to his mouth. He tried to be as gentle as he could when he sank his teeth in; thankfully, it only felt like a sharp prick. Not allowing the temptation to take over was one of the most difficult things Stefan had ever done, but he was successful.

Elowen cradled the wrist he'd fed on with her other hand and smiled at him in genuine happiness.

"I'm so proud of you," she whispered. Stefan smiled back and leaned in to kiss her. Truthfully, she could still taste the metallicness on his lips, but who was she to ruin a moment?

"It's you and me, Stefan. Always."


	11. Chapter 11

"Are you sure you want to still go to this Lockwood charity thing?" Josiah asked as he walked into Elowen's room. "You kinda almost… _died_." The words felt almost impossible to say. He grimaced soon after he said them. "I'm just not sure it's safe to be around him this soon."

Elowen sighed and set her brush down (her hair wasn't wet enough to brush her curls and she was gonna give up anyway). "And I'm just supposed to do what? Hide? Let it hold me down?" She turned away from the mirror on her desk and spun her chair so she could face Josiah. "If anything, I think this'll be good for me."

Josiah sighed back at her. "Only if you're sure."

"I'm sure."

Josiah nodded. "Well, good luck. I'm gonna kick it with Caroline, keep her company."

Elowen smirked. "Of course you are."

"Oh, shut up."

With a smug smile, Elowen turned back to the mirror and resumed her attempts to brush her hair.

**xxxx**

There was a loud, repetitive knocking at the front door and Damon knew it couldn't be Elowen. At this stage, she just walked in and made herself comfortable. Stefan had already left, Caroline and Josiah were with Liz and he doubted it was Elena. Not like she'd have any reason to break their door down anyway.

"Alright, I'm coming! What's the urgency?" He opened the door and revealed Jeremy on the other side. He furrowed his eyebrows. "What do _you_ want?"

"I need to talk to you," Jeremy said in a rush. He looked like he was a man on a mission.

"About?"

"Tyler Lockwood has to kill someone to activate his curse," he informed. "He's not a werewolf yet."

"Wow, fascinating," Damon sarcastically replied. "I already know. Goodbye." He started to close the door, but Jeremy immediately wedged his foot in the way and pushed it back open.

"Mason Lockwood's here looking for something called a moonstone, a special rock connected to the werewolf legend. That's why he's here."

Damon stopped trying to push Jeremy out of the house and allowed him to step inside. This was new. "A moonstone?"

"And I know where it is."

Damon shook his head slightly and pointed a finger at Jeremy. "And you're telling me this why?" Really, it was peculiar Little Gilbert was at his doorstep. Last time he checked, Jeremy was on the list of people who didn't like him, which was pretty lengthy.

"Do I need a reason? Look, I just wanna help, okay?"

"What's your big sis's opinion on this little discovery?"

Jeremy suddenly got quiet. Damon clicked his tongue.

"You haven't told her," he stated. "What about your buddy Josiah?" Damon pointed inside the house. "He's in the basement with his blondie vampire girlfriend. Want me to get him?"

Jeremy sighed. "Elena doesn't want me getting involved in all this. Josiah doesn't really want me to, either. I can tell, but he was there when I found out about this."

"Huh. And Rico Suave didn't think to share with the class," Damon mused. "Alright, you get brownie points for that. Your search for life's purpose is as obvious as it is tragic, but you might be useful." He stepped aside. "Get in here and shut the door, will you?"

**xxxx**

"Hey, Stefan!" Jenna greeted with a smile as she approached him. He'd just walked into the manor awhile ago and hadn't been put to work yet. "I'm cooking dinner tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to come? You can ask Elowen and the rest of the gang for me, too."

Stefan cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um, I guess you wouldn't know, but Elowen and I are kind of… taking a break."

"Really?" Jenna's eyebrow quirked up. "Because I'm pretty certain I saw you, her and Damon disappear together on volunteer day."

Stefan thought they'd been pretty discreet about it, but apparently not. He shook his head, trying to act confused. "I don't… we just needed to talk away from the crowd," he lied.

"Mm-hmm." Jenna smirked knowingly. "Y'know what? I never saw a thing."

Outside, Elowen was carrying two boxes stacked on top of each other to the table where the other boxes were. She was able to successfully navigate her way there without tripping and slid them onto the surface. When she pulled away, she saw that Elena and Bonnie were at the other end of the table. Quickly, before things got awkward, Elowen took the top box down and pried it open.

"Caroline's not coming," she heard Elena say. "I told you."

"Just making sure," came Bonnie's reply. She was looking directly at Elowen now, watching her busy herself by placing the various candles around the edges.

"Y'know… eventually, you're gonna have to talk to her," Elena replied uneasily. Elowen did her best to ignore the conversation. She really did. But….

"Could you make it a little less obvious you're on her side?" Bonnie questioned harshly, looking at Elena now. Elowen snorted. Bonnie glanced back at Elowen with a glare. "Have something you want to say?" She challenged.

"Yep," she answered nonchalantly, continuing to work on her project. Not once did she look in Bonnie's direction. Bonnie stood up straight and crossed her arms.

"Well?" She prompted.

"Well what?" Elowen asked with the same tone.

"What did you want to say?" Bonnie asked irritably. Elena was watching anxiously from the side. These two hadn't seen each other much since Caroline was turned and everyone knew their relationship had been rocky since Grams died. They never met eye to eye anymore and to be frank, Elena didn't want them to start a fight.

"Don't worry about it."

Her apathetic attitude was slowly starting to really irritate Bonnie. She took a slow, but slightly aggressive, deep breath and Elena felt herself step forward just in case.

"Fine. Don't talk to me, then."

Elowen instantly stopped what she was doing and finally looked at Bonnie with a dark glower. Elena quickly stepped between them. Neither seemed to notice.

"You wanna talk?" Elowen set the last of the candles on the table with a loud thud. "Fine. We'll talk." She started walking towards Bonnie and Elena felt herself panic, but Elowen went right past her and kept going.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie asked in annoyance.

"To talk. Let's go."

Bonnie huffed and started towards her, with Elena hurriedly following behind.

In the end, it ended up being Elena filling Bonnie in on Caroline being Katherine's eyes and ears. She was too afraid to let them address one another at all.

"I can't believe this," Bonnie breathed when she was done. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's a lot, I know," Elena sighed. Elowen was slowly walking behind them, seething. This isn't what she wanted to talk about at all and listening to Elena try to explain things she didn't quite understand was giving her a headache. She didn't even know her and Stefan were fake fighting! "Katherine's up to something and she wanted Caroline to act as her spy. She just got trapped in the middle of everything."

Elena and Bonnie sat down on a nearby bench and Elowen shook her head. She turned and started to head back the way she came. Elena was purposefully not allowing her to talk. It was obvious, so she wasn't even going to try.

"Where are you going?" She heard Bonnie ask.

"Back to the manor. I'm apparently not allowed to talk, so this is useless."

"Wait!" Bonnie got up and ran over to stop her. "We're not done here." Her eyes flickered back towards Elena. "Can you please give us a minute?" Elena stood, but didn't move anywhere. "Please, Elena. I'll be back in a sec."

Finally, Elena gave in and started walking back to the charity event. Elowen walked back towards the bench and crossed her arms. She abruptly turned around, facing Bonnie dead on.

"Did you even know that my dad died?" Bonnie blinked in surprise. "Or that Katherine turned him into a vampire for whatever sick reason? Or that she's doing whatever it takes to drive me and Stefan apart and that we've been faking everything since then? Did you even know that we broke up in the first place?"

Bonnie tried to open her mouth to say something, but Elowen wasn't done. "Mason Lockwood is a werewolf that's Katherine's new plaything that she's tricked into loving her. He's supposed to be doing her dirty work alongside Caroline, who, by the way, wanted nothing to do with this. You have the audacity to ask why you weren't let in on the joke when you've made it pretty clear where you stand with the whole vampire thing."

"So that makes me the odd man out. Got it," Bonnie snapped.

"Yes!" Elowen yelled. "Yes, it does!" She was raising her voice now and Bonnie took a step back. "I almost died last week, Bonnie! Mason was prepared to let me kick the bucket so Stefan and Damon would get staked." For once, Bonnie actually seemed distressed. Good. She wanted in on everything and now she got it.

"You're acting like you haven't known Caroline since birth just because she's a vampire now. Do you really think she wanted that to happen? That she wanted Katherine to smother her in her sleep? It's not like she was murdered or anything, right?" Bonnie actually visibility flinched when Elowen said this. "So, yes, Bonnie. It makes you the odd man out," she finished, out of breath.

Elowen stared at Bonnie for a second before shaking her head when she got no response. She started to walk away, but stopped.

"I haven't been on your side since you accused me of killing Sheila," she said lowly. "Don't expect me to suddenly be on your team again when you've shown me no reason to be."

**xxxx**

When Elowen made it back to the manor, she spotted Toby and Tyler carrying a table across the lawn. She stopped at the sight of them. Damon's words from before crossed through her mind.

"_I know Toby is your friend, but who's to say he isn't in on it? I attacked his dad. He's gotta want to at least see me get decked in the face."_

Her blood was still boiling from her 'talk' with Bonnie, so you can only imagine the incredibly intense feelings of anger that washed over her. It only took a few long strides to reach them.

"Hi, Toby," she greeted extra nicely with an overly friendly smile. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure- Ow!"

Elowen seized his arm and dragged him inside the house. Toby kept asking 'what was going on' and 'what happened', but she didn't stop until she had found an empty room. She roughly pushed him in and kicked the door shut. Toby stumbled in and turned around in pure confusion.

"Elles, what the hell-"

"Were you in on it?" She asked angrily. Her arms were crossed and Toby was a little scared of the expression on her face. "Were you playing me this whole time?"

Toby shook his head, utterly lost. "Wha- Sorry, I'm not following. Was I in on what?"

"In on that stunt dear old dad pulled. I trusted you, Toby!" Her voice cracked. Toby used to be her best friend. Her only friend, for that matter. The mere thought of him using her to get close to Stefan and Damon, and then betraying her, was enough to set her off.

"What stunt, Elowen?" Toby asked desperately. "What did he do? Whatever it was, I swear, I wasn't apart of it. I'd never do that to you!"

Elowen breathed heavily as she carefully studied Toby. She wasn't getting any hits off of him and judging by his overall behavior, it looked like he genuinely didn't know what was going on. Her shoulders dropped.

"You mean you really don't know?"

Toby quickly shook his head. "No!" He took a tentative step closer to her. "What did my dad do, Elles?"

Elowen's whole demeanor changed. She shied away and stepped back. How the hell was she supposed to explain this? Toby was watching her expectantly. She cleared her throat.

"He told Sheriff Forbes about Stefan and Damon being vampires. Convinced her I was one of them. Shot us with wooden bullets. Their plan was to kill us." Elowen had to clear her throat again. Finally saying what happened aloud was getting to her. "I almost bled to death."

Toby went expressionless and stayed quiet for a very long time. She saw his adam's apple bop and his jaw clench. His silence was almost worrying.

"He…" Toby swallowed again and wet his lips. "He hasn't been the same since he met his new girlfriend," he explained. "I want to say I'm surprised. Really, I do. I'm disappointed in saying I'm not. Kathy-"

"Katherine," Elowen corrected. "Her name is Katherine. Don't trust her. She's got some secret agenda that we don't know yet, but she's already killed two of my friends and turned Caroline. Stay away from her if you can."

"... And the moonstone?"

Thank god Josiah tells her practically everything, because otherwise, she wouldn't have known about this supposedly important moonstone. Elowen shrugged one shoulder in response.

"She wants it for some reason. Mason's just a pawn to her so she can get her hands on it."

Toby sighed. "I see. Thank you for telling me."

He started walking to the door, but Elowen placed a hand on his chest when he passed her. She kept her eyes ahead of her.

"I don't think we can trust Damon to not… hurt Mason." It really pained her to say that. Toby already lost his mom, after all. "I was able to keep him at bay before, but now that your dad tried to kill me… He's out for blood."

"But, I thought you said he listens to you?"

"Not this time," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

**xxxx**

Stefan was helping set up when Mason walked by with a couple of boxes. He saw Stefan and slowly came to a stop.

"... Hey, Stefan," he greeted awkwardly as he set his boxes down. Stefan merely smiled and walked around the tables to stand in front of him.

"Hey, Mason."

"Wasn't expecting to see you here," Mason said quietly. "Or anywhere."

"Yeah, I had this little accident." Stefan shrugged. "But, I'm fine now."

"What did you do to Sheriff Forbes?"

"Oh, she's fine, too." Stefan stepped closer and his face dropped. "Go after Elowen again and, well…. Let's just say there won't be a next time. Are we clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good. From now on, do your own dirty work."

**xxxx**

Elowen had emerged from the manor and immediately busied herself with sorting through masks. Nothing had been going right for her recently and she was upset that she felt like she was back home in Atlanta again. Depression was terrible, mood swings were at large and she reverted to running away from her problems. Talk about character un-development.

She was so preoccupied that she didn't notice Damon sneak up from behind her. It wasn't until his mouth was right beside her ear, whispering, "Hello, little witch," did she jump and whirl around. She sighed in relief when she saw it was just him.

"What are you doing here?"

Instead of answering, Damon took in her appearance and frowned. Her skin was clammy, her hair was a mess and her eyes kept darting around like she was looking out for something. Damon saw Mason Lockwood talking to Stefan just behind Elowen and it clicked. Looking out for _someone_. No wonder she was so on edge. Unfortunately for Damon, Elowen followed his line of sight and spotted Mason across the yard. Immediately, her breath hitched and he heard her heartbeat pick up pace.

"Hey, hey, hey," Damon quickly gained her attention. "He can't hurt you anymore. Listen, why don't you go home, get some rest?"

Elowen started to shake her head. "No, I'm fine. I can stay."

"Nobody would blame you if-"

"I said I was fine!" Damon shut up at her outburst. Elowen took a short deep breath and brought her voice back down to a proper volume. "If I go home, it'll look like I'm hiding. I told myself no more hiding a long time ago."

Damon sighed and ran his fingers through her curls (or tried to, at least. They usually got stuck within seconds). His hand came to a stop on her cheek. "Wen, it's not hiding. You need time to recover. You were shot, for god's sake. That would take a toll on anyone."

"I'm fine," she repeated. "I can handle it."

"I was afraid you'd say that," he mumbled. "You have a knack for putting up a tough front."

Elowen snorted. "You're one to talk."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He looked up and saw that both Stefan and Mason were gone. "Damn. I lost Stefan."

"Well, then, let's go find him. I'm going," she added when Damon looked like he was about to protest. "Come on."

**xxxx**

"Katherine's with Mason Lockwood?!"

They'd found Stefan and were talking in a hidden corner where nobody could see them. He'd just told them about the vision Bonnie had. Elowen tried her hardest to not think about her. Maybe she should apologize for reaming her earlier.

"'m sorry," Elowen mumbled tiredly. "Should've mentioned that."

Damon looked over and found himself sighing again. He wrapped an arm around her and her head instantly fell onto his shoulder. Today was really draining her. It was obvious for anyone to see it.

"Don't worry about it, Wen."

"We missed it," Stefan continued to get the attention off of her. It was greatly appreciated. "He got into town right after she did. It makes perfect sense."

"Yeah, but Mason Lockwood? Werewolf thing aside, the guy's a surfer," Damon deadpanned bluntly. He felt Elowen snort against him and smirked in triumph. "She's got to be using him."

"Moonstone," Elowen offered. She could physically feel herself crashing. From pretending to be okay, to getting angry at the simplest thing, to feeling like she could sleep for a week summed up her day pretty well. She was already resting her eyes from her spot on Damon's shoulder.

"Of course!" Damon said in realization. Stefan furrowed his eyebrows.

"Moonstone?" He questioned.

"Mason's looking for a moonstone that can allegedly break the full moon werewolf curse," Damon explained. "Maybe Katherine wants it as well."

"But, why? Why would a vampire want to help a werewolf?"

"No idea," Damon answered truthfully. "But, that's the beauty of Katherine, isn't it? She's always up to something."

"And how are we gonna find this moonstone?" Stefan asked.

"Toby knows where it is," Elowen mumbled.

Damon groaned at the name. "Wen, what did I say about him? He could be in on it."

"He's not. He didn't even know Mason tried to kill me, let alone what he wants the stupid stone for. I'll ask him."

"No need," Damon replied. "Jeremy's getting it from Tyler."

"Why would you involve Jeremy?" Stefan voiced incredulously. Damon rolled his eyes.

"Kid's playing Indiana Jones. He involved himself. What was I supposed to do, shut him out when he was eagerly feeding me useful information at my doorstep?" Damon looked down and saw Elowen practically sleeping while standing up. "Look, we need to get her home and then we'll deal with this."

"No!" Elowen argued without much of a fight. Her eyes opened and she leaned off of Damon's shoulder. "For the last time, I'm fine."

"No, you're not." His eyes flickered back up to Stefan. "I'm going to take her home. I'll be back."

"Can you two stop babying me?" She whined. Damon shook his head as he led her back towards where the cars were parked.

"Nope."

Stefan shook his head once they left, an amused grin on his face. He turned and went off to continue his job, unaware that Jenna was lurking in the background, watching the whole time.

**xxxx**

Damon parked Esmeralda's car in the driveway and Elowen grumbled as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"Well, right now I do."

"What a thing to say to the person who saved your life."

Elowen stopped in front of the door and sneered without any real fire behind it. "You're gonna use that in every argument from now on, aren't you?"

Damon grinned cheerfully at her to get under her skin. "Yep!" He leaned in for a quick peck on the lips and then ruffled her hair. If it were possible, her curls got even more tangled than they already were. "I've gotta get back, but if I see you there again, I will haul your ass back home."

"I don't doubt it."

"Good."

He watched Elowen open the front door and didn't leave until he knew she was securely in the house. He turned and headed down the patio steps and stopped momentarily as he passed Esmeralda's car. Elowen needed a new one, didn't she? Hmm.

That was the last thing on Damon's mind before he took off full speed, back in the direction of the Lockwood manor.

**xxxx**

Well, there goes that plan.

Stefan and Damon just found out that Tyler punk gave the stone to his enemy uncle when Jeremy tried to get it back. They shared a look and both knew what their only option was. Bonnie. Which is how they found themselves leading her away from the rest of the crowd no less than 5 minutes later.

"This is as far as I go," she announced as she ripped her arm away from Damon. "What do you want?"

"A favor."

"Like that's gonna happen."

Damon rolled his eyes. "So predictable." He nodded at Stefan, who was standing next to him. "That's why I brought him."

"I know how you feel about helping us out," Stefan started to say. "But, since you're the one that linked Mason with Katherine, we finally have an opportunity to get an upper hand on both of them. Just hear us out."

"Pretty please." Damon fauxed a pout. He probably would've hated her anyway since she hated him in the first place, but ever since the whole Grams fiasco went down, his dislike grew far more intense.

Bonnie crossed her arms and lifted her head. "I'm listening."

"All you have to do is touch Mason Lockwood and see if he gave Katherine the moonstone," Damon explained. Bonnie squinted her eyes in slight confusion.

"Why can't Elowen help you with this? Her power is stronger than mine. It's honed in on doing stuff like this."

Stefan and Damon shared uncomfortable looks. Bonnie tilted her head. It took a minute for it to click in her head.

"_I almost died last week, Bonnie! Mason was prepared to let me kick the bucket so Stefan and Damon would get staked."_

"Oh."

"I see she told you about her near death experience."

"Damon!" Stefan scolded. "Don't say it like that."

"Fine. Onto Plan B. Let's talk about that witchy head juju thing you do with me. Y'know, the fun one where my brain bursts into flames? What is that?"

"That's me giving you an aneurysm," Bonnie told him. "Your blood vessels go pop, but you heal quickly, so I do it over and over again."

"Hmm," Damon mused. "Is it vampire specific?"

Bonnie crossed her arms. "I'd imagine it'd work on anyone with a supernatural healing ability."

"Good." Damon nodded in approval. "Good, good."

"I'm not gonna help you hurt him."

"Mason Lockwood's a werewolf, Katherine's evil. They're the bad guys and you're gonna play the morality police with me right now?" Damon huffed. "Let me put it to you this way: they're a threat to Elena. To Elowen, if you even care about her anymore. She almost died because of him, possibly on her orders. So, you're gonna get over yourself and help us."

"Yeah, he meant that as a question with a 'please' on the end," Stefan spoke up. Damon bore his eyes into Bonnie's.

"Absolutely."

**xxxx**

"How did you get stuck doing that by yourself?"

Bonnie was trying and failing to get a table into the back of a truck on purpose to get Mason's attention. She could easily do this on her own. He fell for it.

"All the guys bailed." she sighed. "Something about draft picks. I don't know, I don't speak that language."

"Here, lemme give you a hand."

Mason grabbed the other end of the table and helped her haul it into the truck. When he was distracted, she cast the spell. Not even a second later, he was grabbing his head and screaming in pain.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, before Damon came out of hiding and kneed him in the face. He was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground, limp. Stefan crouched down and pulled Mason's car keys out of his pocket and threw them to Damon. He caught them effortlessly and opened the passenger's door. He signaled for Bonnie to get in and after a moment of hesitation, she climbed into the seat.

Stefan and Damon grabbed hold of Mason and put him in the trunk of his jeep. Damon closed the hatch and then hopped into the driver's seat. Him and Bonnie were off the next second.


	12. Chapter 12

"Hey, judgey!"

Damon and Bonnie had successfully gotten Mason into the boarding house and he'd just finished chaining Mason to a chair. Bonnie was on her way out the door.

"Thank you," he said when she turned around. Bonnie nodded and continued her way out of the boarding house. When she reached the front door, she heard Caroline call out from behind her. Bonnie froze momentarily and turned around.

She cleared her throat. "Hey. How's your mom? Elena and Elowen filled me in on what happened this morning."

"I'm gonna take her home tonight," Caroline told her with a smile. "Did you find the moonstone thing?"

"Not yet," Bonnie responded. "Hey, do you remember that old well where we used to play when we were kids?"

"Yeah. It's on the edge of the old Lockwood property. Why?"

Bonnie took her phone out of her pocket and texted Elena. She would've texted Elowen, but thought it might be weird, after everything that happened. That, and Damon told her very clearly to leave her out of it. She didn't have Stefan's number, so this was the next best thing.

"I think that's where Mason is keeping the moonstone. I've gotta go."

Caroline quickly stepped forward. "Well, I can come with you."

Bonnie opened her mouth to decline when Elowen's words from earlier played through her head.

"_You're acting like you haven't known Caroline since birth just because she's a vampire now."_

She was right. She _had_ known Caroline her whole life and it wasn't fair to shun her the way she was. Always count on Elowen to give her best advice when she was pissed off. _Elowen_. Bonnie felt herself mentally frown. Knowing that the last thing she could've said to her was nasty and out of spite didn't sit right with her. Elowen could've died thinking that her and Bonnie were still on bad terms. Maybe it was time for her to move past what wasn't really her fault.

"Sure, you can come," Bonnie said instead. A wide grin broke out on Caroline's face.

"Okay! Lead the way."

**xxxx**

Elowen had been lazing around with Esmeralda and Alaric in the living room. They were watching reruns of the Twilight Zone with a big bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and Elowen noted how normal and comfortable it was for Ric to be here. He was over so often that he kinda almost lived there.

She made a reach for the popcorn when she was sucked into a premonition.

_Stefan and Elena are at some sort of well. She's not sure what for, but Stefan swings his legs over and jumps down. The water below is laced with vervain and Stefan's skin immediately starts to burn on contact. He yells as Elena watches helplessly from above._

Elowen sat up when she was brought back and looked around for her phone. Esmeralda looked over in curiosity.

"Honey, what are you looking for?"

"My phone. I've gotta warn Stefan. Premonition," she offered as a quick explanation before moving into the kitchen for some quiet. She'd found her phone and was already dialing Stefan's number. She pressed her phone to her ear and listened to the phone ring. "Come on, come on…"

Of course, he didn't pick up and it went into voicemail. "Shit," she swore, going on to dial Damon's number. He didn't answer either. She growled in annoyance and went on to her last resort. Elena.

The line connected, but before Elowen could say anything, Elena was giving out a rushed answer. "I can't talk right now. I'll call you back in a minute." The call was over just as quick as it started.

"Goddamnit!"

"Language," Esmeralda piped from the living room. Elowen seized the car keys off of the counter and hurried towards the door.

"Nobody's answering. I'll be back soon. Bye!"

She was out the door before Esmeralda and Alaric could question her at all. They looked at each other.

"Should I be worried?" She asked. Alaric thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Nah. If there was any real trouble, we would know."

"Good point."

Alaric looked at her in surprise. "You mean you're not gonna go through your regular panicky mom routine? Especially considering recent events?"

"I doubt Stefan and Damon are gonna allow her out of their sight for even a second right now. They'll be more on guard." She looked up at Ric. "She'll be safe with them. If I can count on those two for anything, it's that."

Ric smiled and pressed a kiss to her temple. "If you aren't worried, then it must not be a problem. Now, what do you say about some lunch?"

**xxxx**

Elowen arrived in the nick of time. Literally. Stefan already had his legs dangling over the well with a flashlight in his hand.

"Wait!" She called, out of breath. "It's a trap," she told him breathlessly. "The water is full of vervain."

"You shouldn't be here." Stefan swung back over and walked towards Elowen. "Damon took you home to rest. And if we get caught…"

"Nobody was answering their phones so I could tell you." Her eyes flickered to Elena. "And when someone did answer, I was completely brushed off."

Elena awkwardly curled in on herself. Oops. Elowen gave the well a once over and spotted the bucket hanging off to the side. She walked around Stefan and started to hook it together.

"Send me down in this. Ah, ah!" Elowen lifted a hand when Stefan tried to swoop in and protest. "I know what I'm looking for and you won't survive down there. We don't have any other choice, so suck it up."

Stefan sighed and nodded. He helped get the bucket setup and watched as Elowen carefully straddled it. She gave a nod of approval.

"Okay, go ahead and lower me."

Reluctantly, Stefan took hold of the chain and slowly started to lower her. All was going well until they reached the halfway point. A rusty chain link gave way and sent Elowen falling the rest of the way down. She landed with a loud splash and hit her head on one of the stone bricks.

"Elowen?!"

"Elowen!"

Came Stefan and Elena's shouts, respectively. Without any hesitation, Stefan started to haul himself back over and prepared to jump down anyway when Elena quickly grabbed hold of his arm.

"No! You'll be of no use to her down there!"

"Then what do you propose we do?!"

Elena recoiled slightly when Stefan yelled at her. He took a deep breath to calm down and started pacing. "I'm sorry."

Inside the well, Elowen grabbed onto her head and saw stars in the corners of her eyes. "I'm okay!"

She could hear Stefan's sigh of relief even from all the way down there. Sluggishly, Elowen started to feel around for the stone. Eventually, her hands came across something hard within the cravasses of the walls. She pulled it above the water and found that it was a box.

"Guys, I found it! I found…" Elowen's voice took a dive, becoming weak within an instant. She tipped over and fell, facedown, in the water.

"Elowen? Elowen!" Stefan peered into the well and suddenly felt incredibly helpless. At that second, Caroline appeared beside them.

"What's happening? What's going on?" She asked in a frenzy. "I heard you two screaming."

"Elowen went down to find the stone and the chain broke," Elena explained when it became apparent that Stefan was too worried to answer. "She hit her head and she just passed out."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Go get her!"

"The water's filled with vervain," Stefan told her. "I can't."

Bonnie and Toby came running up behind them a second later. Bonnie was completely winded, but Toby seemed fine. Werewolf perks.

"I saw Caroline take off in a blur and I knew something must be wrong," Toby said. "Talk to me, guys."

Caroline was surprised he even knew her name. They hadn't officially met, but she assumed that maybe Elowen had told him who she was. Josiah had told her about Toby when he talked about his life in Atlanta, but of course he left out the detail that he was related to Tyler. She made a mental note to beat the crap out of him later for not telling he was Tyler's cousin all along.

"Elowen's passed out down there in the water. She could drown if we don't act quick," Elena explained again. "The chain broke and Stefan and Caroline can't go down because the water's filled with vervain."

Toby jumped into action as adrenaline kicked in. He grabbed onto what was left of the chain and started to tie it around his waist. He might meet the same fate, but at least he'd go down trying to save her life. After making sure it was secure, he hopped over the side.

"You two lower me down. Maybe with double the man power, the chain will hold. Ready?"

Stefan and Caroline both nodded as they took hold of the chain. Toby kicked off of the side and was slowly dropped down into the well. He safely reached the bottom and immediately picked Elowen up and out of the water. She was definitely unconscious. Toby unwrapped himself from the chain and quickly hooked it around Elowen instead. When she was completely fastened, he tugged on the chain.

"Pull her up!"

She started to ascend right away. He spotted the box she must've been holding floating in the water and grabbed it. He had an inkling of what was inside. The chain came back for him and he was lifted back up. He fell onto the ground in his rush to make it to Elowen's side.

"Move, I know CPR."

Elena and Bonnie cleared a way for him and he started compressions. Bonnie further solidified her goal in forgiving Elowen and making up with her. This was the second time she could've died within a week and she still never had the chance to say she was sorry. She would change that when she woke up.

"Come on, Elles," Toby mumbled. He tilted her chin up and puffed air into her mouth. He leaned back and continued compressions. He gradually started to come to a stop when nothing was happening. They all watched feebly at Elowen's small form. Stefan's eyes started to fill up with tears as realization was dawning on him. It was quiet for a long moment as they all started to mourn. Then, suddenly, Elowen started to cough up water and everyone breathed sighs of relief. Toby turned her onto her side as she finished coughing.

Stefan was the most relieved she was breathing and blinked away the wetness in his eyes. Him and Toby gently helped her sit up. "You've gotta stop almost dying on me, Elle. You're gonna give me a heart attack."

"Elowen," Bonnie said quickly as she dropped to her knees next to her. She was still crying. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry. For everything. I should've never said what I said about Grams. I wasn't being fair. And knowing that you've come so close to…" She trailed off. "I didn't want the last encounter we had to be a stupid argument. I'm sorry."

Elowen was aware of her surroundings enough to process what was being said. She reached out and made a grab for Bonnie. "And you should be. Accusing people of murder isn't a very nice thing to do. It's good to see that you finally came to your senses and had half a brain to apologize."

Bonnie wiped at her tears. "I know. I'm sorry. Forgive me?"

"Only if you promise not to do it again."

"I promise."

"Good."

Bonnie gave a watery laugh and leaned over to hug Elowen tightly.

"Hate to break up the party," Toby interrupted. He picked up the wooden box he'd dropped and lifted it up. "But, I think you're looking for this." He popped open the box to reveal the moonstone. "Here," he handed it to Elowen. "I trust you with this. Don't let Kathy- Katherine. Don't let Katherine have it."

"We won't," Stefan informed him. "We'll keep it safe. We promise."

**xxxx**

"Ohh, I get it," Damon was saying to Mason, a laugh bubbling up in his throat. "You're just stupid. Katherine doesn't love you. She's using you, moron."

"I'm done talking."

"Yes, you are." He handed the rest of the wolfsbane to Jeremy and pushed him in the direction of the door. "It's time for you to take a walk, Jeremy."

"I'm staying," Jeremy announced defiantly. Damon sighed exasperatedly.

"You should really go."

"I'm staying, Damon," Jeremy repeated. "He's had enough."

Mason looked at Jeremy pleadingly. "Just help Tyler; don't let this happen to him. And take care of Toby, alright? He's been through enough. Push him towards Elowen. She'll help."

"Keep her name out of your mouth!" Damon growled, flying forward to wrap his hand around Mason's neck. Mason choked and tried to breathe, but to no avail. Jeremy quickly rushed forward and tried to grab onto Damon's arm.

"Damon, that's enough! Let him go!"

Damon shifted his glare onto Jeremy and super-sped him against the wall on the other side of the room. "I said, it's time to leave. He tried to kill me and _Elowen_ the first chance he got! You think I'm gonna let him continue to let him prance around town? You thought wrong." He released Jeremy from his hold. "Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

Jeremy clenched his jaw and with one last glance at Mason, left.

"Finally! For a second there, I thought I was gonna have to drag him out kicking and screaming." Damon waltzed back over to Mason. "Y'know, I look at you and I see myself. A less dashing, less intelligent version."

"I love her!" Mason defended.

"Oh, I know!" Damon yelled back. "I've been where you are." He came over and crouched in front of Mason. "I was almost gonna go easy on you. And then, guess what?" Damon's face dropped and was replaced by a sneer. "I remembered that you hurt my girl. Bad move, dude." He stood back up and, without warning, plunged his hand into Mason's chest. "Guess I'll just have to rip your heart out before Katherine does." He pulled his hand back out, this time with his fingers wrapped about Mason's heart.

Expressionlessly, Damon watched the light disappear from Mason's eyes and his head fall onto his chest. He carelessly threw Mason's heart on the ground and left to go wash his hands off.

**xxxx**

It was hard to get Toby to part from Elowen. Stefan couldn't help himself feel jealous. These two had chemistry. They'd known each other since they were 6, dated for a year and a half and used to be best friends. He could handle sharing her with Damon. He was his brother; he knew him. Knew that he'd never hurt Elowen or let her get hurt. He didn't know Toby. In fact, he didn't quite trust him yet.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Elowen lightly tugged on his sleeve. He blinked when he realized Toby was gone.

"He's just a friend," she told him quietly. Of course she knew what he was thinking. "I haven't seen him in almost 3 years. Can you blame me for trying to play catch up?"

Stefan sighed deeply. "I guess not." His phone chimed and pulled it out to read the text. He quickly put it back in his pocket when Elowen tried to read it. "Damon wants me back at the boarding house. I don't think he's gonna be happy when he sees you're not at home."

"So?" Elowen crossed her arms. "He's not the boss of me. And I wouldn't even be back here if somebody would just answer his phone."

Stefan grimaced. "Sorry. Let's just get out of here before someone sees us."

**xxxx**

"What the hell are you doing here?" Damon had zoomed into the foyer the second he heard Elowen and Stefan enter the house. "You're supposed to be at home, _resting_."

"If I weren't here, Stefan would've nose dived into a well full of vervain water." Elowen crossed her arms. "He wouldn't answer his phone."

Damon looked over at Stefan and squinted his eyes. "Lovely." He pushed her back towards the door. "Bye now."

Elowen abruptly put her feet down and stopped Damon from nudging her any further. "You're trying to get rid of me," she stated. She turned around. "Damon, what did you do?"

"I'll tell you later," he hastily replied. "Please, you need to leave."

Elowen looked into Damon's eyes and felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. Her eyes flickered over to the entrance to the parlor, where Damon had come from. "This seems like this is too important to just 'tell me later'. You're worried. What's going on?"

It was becoming apparent that Damon was growing frustrated over the fact that she wasn't dropping this. He rubbed his hands down his face. Was he really expecting anything less from her?

"I'm worried because you haven't been in the right state of mind for any of this since Bonnie's Grams died and your reactions are much more sensitive than usual. You _cannot_ handle this right now, Wen. Trust me." He took hold of her hands. Stefan watched on with interest. Seeing this side of Damon and how far he'd come, even though he could smell blood inside the house, was… almost surreal. Was this even the same person? Elowen stared at their hands and slowly drew them back.

"This is about Mason, isn't it?"

Damon gave a light groan and stepped away.

"Toby said he just disappeared earlier without telling him. Damon, you can tell me."

"I killed him, alright?" Damon nearly snapped in exasperation. He hated it when Elowen figured things out. She was too smart for her own good. "It had to be done. He was a major threat."

Elowen took a deep breath and paused. After a few moments, she nodded. "Okay."

Stefan and Damon glanced at one another. Based on past situations, they were certain that she would be livid.

"... Okay?" Damon echoed. "Just okay?"

"I told you if that's what it came to, then that's what it came to." She opened her mouth to say more, but closed it. Damon saw this.

"But?"

"But, he was still Toby's dad. He has no living parents now. I don't know what will happen to him after this."

Damon went quiet. "I know he's your friend," he said after a moment. "I'm sorry. I didn't think about how that would affect him."

Elowen stood up straighter and presented herself as being fine. All of them knew she wasn't. "What's done is done. Can't go back now." She started to walk in the direction of the parlor, but once again, Damon stopped her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where do you think you're going?"

"To help you clean up," she stated as if it were obvious. "If I busy myself, then I don't have to think about how much of a shitshow my life is right now." She gestured for Damon to get out of the way when he didn't move. "Are we gonna get the blood stains out of your carpet or what?"

Finally, Damon stepped aside. Wordlessly, she walked by him and into the parlor.

**xxxx**

At this point, Elowen was sort of numb to the idea of being around dead bodies. Should she be? No. But, was she anyway? Yes. That didn't mean she had slight PTSD flashbacks to the night Tanner died when she saw Mason's body with his heart sitting three feet away. That was roughly 10 minutes ago.

Now, Elowen was helping Stefan roll his body into the carpet he was on while Damon wrote Carol out a cover story over text.

"Carol, huge emergency back in Florida," he started to voice aloud. "Had to leave in a rush, so Toby will be crashing with you for a bit. Hope that's okay. Think I'm gonna be gone for awhile. Take good care of him for me, will you? Much love, Mason."

Elowen couldn't help but feel slightly touched at his gesture to make sure Toby stayed somewhere around family. How was she going to tell him that his father was dead? One thing at a time, Elle, she told herself.

"So, where is this moonstone?" Damon drawled as he looked through Mason's phone. Elowen pulled it out of her back pocket and tossed it at him. He caught it effortlessly with one hand without glancing her way. He turned it over in his palm. "All this for a dumb little rock?"

"Apparently."

After a moment, Damon gasped over dramatically, drawing him attention. "Ooh, last number dialed. I wonder who that could possibly be?"

"No, no, no! Do not provoke her!" Stefan got up from his spot on the ground to try and grab the phone away, but Damon pushed his hands away and stepped farther and farther backward. Elowen felt herself beginning to crawl onto her feet on reflex.

"Wrong boy toy," Damon smugly answered into the phone after Katherine presumably answered. Stefan gave up trying to pull the phone away. Damon was too strong. Elowen found her way over and stood a little ways away from Damon. She simply stared at him. Slowly, his face started to drop the longer she stared.

"'Course Mason's with me," he replied, not breaking eye contact with Elowen. He could've definitely been snarkier, but found himself feeling… properly and silently uncomfortable under her gaze. "Except, y'know, he's not breathing."

"I've had a very busy day today," Damon continued. He was having a hard time keeping up his aloof front. Really, he was seconds away from cutting the call and tossing the phone away. But, the satisfaction of finally one-upping Katherine was too great. "I killed a werewolf, found a moonstone. Hey, did you know that he had the stone in the bottom of a well full of vervain? I guess he didn't trust you very much. Although, he did love you. Poor guy."

Words were exchanged and a faux pout appeared on Damon's lip. "Aww, did I put a kink in your master plan? I'm so sorry."

Whatever Katherine said must've been the last, because Damon pulled the phone away and looked over at Stefan, finally tearing his eyes away from Elowen. From the sound of her voice, Damon could already tell they were fucked.

**xxxx**

"Hello?"

"Hello, Elena."

Elena felt her blood run cold at the voice of the person on the other line. "Katherine."

Jenna had really pushed for people to come to dinner tonight, but it looked like it was just her, Jeremy and Elena. After today's events, Elena couldn't blame anybody. She glanced at Jenna and went into the next room.

"What do you want?"

"Tell Elowen that I will always know, Elena. She thought she was sneaky with her visits to see Stefan and really, she almost was, if it weren't for your lovely aunt Jenna."

Elena felt her eyebrows furrow in pure confusion. Elowen and Stefan had been faking it this whole time? They were pretty damn believable to her. "I don't know what you're talking about, but stay away from Jenna."

"Oh, but we've already become _such_ good friends, Elena," Katherine said. "Do you know how easy it was to get inside of your house? To replace aunt Jenna's vervain perfume, to convince her to stop drinking her special tea? She's been my little spy for days. Followed Elowen and Stefan around without their knowledge and reported back to me. She's quite the stealth master."

"What does this have to do with me?" Elena grit out. "I had nothing to do with Elowen or Stefan."

"Oh, but this has everything to do with you, Elena. It's not always about that dreadful witch. Besides, I need to send a message. Unlike the rest of you, Jenna listens to me. So, when I suggested that the world would be a much better place if she were to just…"

Elena felt herself quickly turning around just in time to see Jenna stab herself in the stomach. "Jenna, no!" She screamed, dropping the phone.

Jeremy came rushing down the stairs at all the ruckus and stopped dead at the scene in front of him. Elena was already on the ground, applying pressure to the stab wound. She looked up and saw him. "Call an ambulance! Quick!"

Jeremy dived for the forgotten phone on the ground. The next thing they knew, they were at the hospital.

**xxxx**

Caroline came running up from the stairs to the basement. Her phone was up to her ear and she blurred right past them to the door.

"Caroline!" Elowen called out. "What's going on?"

"Jenna's in the hospital," she explained quickly. "I don't know the full details yet."

"What?" Elowen stepped forward. "Hold on. I'll come with."

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

At Elowen's confused look and a demand from Elena in her ear, Caroline sighed and put the phone on speaker.

"This is your fault," Elena immediately spat. It was obvious she was crying and still in hysterics, but her words still cut deep into Elowen. "If you weren't so selfish, lying to everyone about sneaking around with Stefan, none of this would've happened! Bonnie was right. I can't believe I defended you." There were tears welling up in Elowen's eyes the longer Elena went on. "Stay away from me and my family."

Caroline ended the call. There was a tense, awkward feeling in the air. Caroline bit onto her bottom lip. She understood where Elena was coming from, and why she'd say stuff like that, but still, did she really want to go when Elowen obviously needed comfort, too? Right after thinking that, Elowen started to cry. Stefan and Damon both tried to reach out to her, but she stepped away.

"No!" She shouted. "Don't you get it?! It's always _me_! It's always _my _fault! Grams died because of _me_. Jenna's in the hospital because of _me_. My dad is a vampire because of _me_. He was a stupid distraction, for fucks sake!" She wiped furiously at the wetness on her cheeks. "Everything was going okay until you two came along."

"Wen…"

"You don't mean that."

"Shut up!" Her voice cracked at the force of her scream. Everyone, including Caroline, jumped. "I can't do this anymore. I can't. Katherine knows it's fake now," she told Stefan. "And I can't see Damon without seeing you."

"Elle, don't do this," Stefan pleaded. He tried to step forward, but Elowen took one back. "Please, we can figure something out."

"Like what?!"

When nobody said anything, she continued.

"It's over," she sobbed. "I can't think of any other solution."

"This is my fault," Damon spoke up quietly. "It's always _my_ fault, Wen. Not yours. You're just the one who gets blamed. I riled her up. Every bone in my body was telling me to hang up, but I didn't. I wasn't thinking."

"You never think about anyone but yourself, Damon," Elowen muttered quietly. There were still tears shining in her eyes. "It's game over. She's won."

Damon knew she didn't mean that, but it still hit him like a ton of bricks. Since when did things like this hurt him? Caroline carefully stepped forward.

"I'll get her home safely, guys. Just make sure my mom gets home okay."

Both Stefan and Damon nodded and watched them leave. When they were gone, Damon knocked over the table in the room.

"That bitch is dead. I will find a way to make her pay. I don't know how yet, but she will."

**xxxx**

"Why does this Tyler kid have to trigger the curse again?" Luis asked Katherine from the corner of her room. There was a blonde haired, blue eyed boy sitting on the edge of the bed. He couldn't remember his name, not like it mattered. He was going to die anyway. "You've already got that other mutt at your disposal."

"Toby was my plan B, my safety net," Katherine explained as Matt got up and left. "Now that Mason's dead, I need another safety net in case Toby gets cut from the equation as well."

"So, in other words, you're setting up plan C in case plan B falls through."

"Yep."

"God, I love how your mind works." He got up and settled down where Matt had been sitting seconds before. "It's sexy."

Katherine smirked with a giggle and came over to straddle Luis. "It's nice to know I had another 'boy toy' ready and willing to be my replacement."

"For you? Of course."

Katherine leaned down and kissed Luis harshly. "We're going to have so much fun together. Trust me."


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note**: Okay, for this episode we briefly get to meet one of Elowen's distant cousins. I wasn't sure whether or not to give her a fc since she won't be a major character, but I finally decided to pick one. Her fc is Melonie Diaz, who you might recognize from the reboot Charmed tv show. I thought it was funny when I found out she'd been casted because I considered Melonie as a fc for Eliana before I decided to make her and Esmeralda identical twins, back in 2017 before the show even aired (can you believe I've been working on this story since tvd ended 3 years ago?). In the end, I didn't think they looked like believable sisters. Another person I thought about making Eliana's fc was Diane Guerrero, but I was trying to keep everyone's fc be of Puerto Rican descent since that's the ethnic background everyone is in the story and Diane is Colombian. Anyway, I thought it might be interesting to share this with you guys lol. Onwards!

**xxxx**

For once, Elowen felt like she had absolutely nothing to do but normal, high school English homework. She had to write an essay, so she was sitting in front of her desk, laptop open and glasses on. Recently, she sorta stopped having the motivation to put contacts in. She hadn't heard from anyone since two days ago, except Caroline, and for now, she'd like to keep it that way. There was a knock at her door.

She was expecting her mom or Josiah, but, to her surprise, it was Bonnie. Ever since she almost died (which she wished people would stop bringing up; she didn't want to think about it), Bonnie had been trying to patch things up. It was nice having her as a friend again.

"Hey," she greeted. Bonnie ventured farther into the room and took a seat on her bed. "Just thought I'd let you know that Jenna is safely back at home resting."

"That's good to hear." Elowen could see that there was something else on her mind, so she raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"And… Stefan and Damon asked me to come to their house and to bring my grimoire. I just wanted you to know."

Elowen nodded. "I see. Thanks for telling me. I know I said it's over, but they don't have to use you as a rebound witch just because we're on the outs. It's not fair to you. I know you want nothing to do with this."

"You're not wrong. I asked why they couldn't ask Josiah and Damon said it 'wasn't worth opening that can of worms'." Both of them laughed. "I guess he thought it would make you mad."

"Going behind my back would make me mad," Elowen stated. "Not borrowing my little brother for magic, but instead dragging in someone who wants to live a normal life. That would just irk me a bit."

Bonnie laughed again. "Good to know." She stood up. "Well, guess I better be going."

"Alright, see ya later. Keep me in the loop if you want to."

Bonnie left and Elowen was on her own once more.

**xxxx**

"Do not sneak up on a vampire."

Katherine was holding one women by the neck and the other against the wall with her forearm. She knew them both. In fact, she'd invited them here and they came. Not like that had an option to say no.

"Don't attack a witch," Lucy responded. Katherine let her and the other girl go. "It's good to see you, girl." They were both pulled into a hug that was probably not genuine.

"I'm glad you made it, Lucy, Eleanore."

Eleanore scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Nora, Katherine. It's Nora. I'm tired of that stupid E name rule. It's boring."

"Well, how else would people know you're distantly related to the Ramirez line?"

"I'd rather nobody knew."

"Well, regardless, I'm glad you two made it," Katherine said. Her hand was on her hip and, as usual, held herself confidently.

"You call, we come," Lucy responded.

"Like you had a choice."

"Don't get all boss lady on us," Nora sassed jokingly. "You know we love you."

Lucy plucked a mask from one of the many bags on the table and held it to her face. "Now, where does one wear this?"

"To a masquerade ball," Katherine replied. "Want to be my dates?"

**xxxx**

"Hey, come on in." Caroline held the door open for Bonnie to enter. There was a lot going on in the house, that much she knew before she even stepped in.

"I got Stefan's message."

"Hey, you brought the grimoire," Stefan greeted as he approached her. "Good."

Bonnie looked over and saw various weapons spread out on the table. Jeremy and Alaric were there as well. What the hell was happening?

"What's going on?" She asked.

"We're gonna kill Katherine," Jeremy replied nonchalantly. He wandered over a few seconds ago when he saw Bonnie. Her eyebrows raised in surprise and she looked over at Stefan for an explanation.

"I can explain."

"Please."

"... We're gonna kill Katherine," he repeated after Jeremy when he realized there was no real way to explain everything. Bonnie nodded her head slowly. She was _so_ keeping Elowen in on what was happening. No way she'd keep something this big from her.

"_Going behind my back would make me mad."_

She was going to have a field day when she heard about this.

"All this just for Elowen back? It's risky. Too many people could get hurt."

It was about half an hour later after Stefan and Damon tried to explain their plan for the night. Bonnie was still lost. She'd managed to sneak away to text Elowen but she hadn't heard back yet. Maybe her phone was on silent.

"Sure, we want Elowen back, but it's more than that," Stefan explained. "What Katherine did to Jenna, it crossed a line. She has to be stopped before it happens again."

"She's ruined Elowen, Bonnie," Damon cut in. "She brought her dead, abusive father back into her life. I mean, she's been a mess since Grams died, but ever since Katherine's been in town, she can't catch a break. Besides, the bitch should've died in that fire decades ago."

"I don't know, guys."

"Look, Katherine knows us, right?" Stefan asked. "She knows that Damon is the reckless one and that I would never try something in a crowd full of innocent people, so swapping roles gives us an edge. We could catch her by surprise."

Bonnie chewed on her lip as she thought this over. "I could do a spell to trap her, like the tomb spell."

"Right. We can isolate her away from the others. Please, Bonnie."

"Okay, but…"

Damon groaned.

"... I don't know if I can do a spell like this alone."

Damon picked up on her clue first. "No. You do it on your own and not at all."

"Okay then, have fun trying to kill your insane ex girlfriend on your own." Bonnie headed for the door, but Stefan grabbed onto her arm.

"Wait. Does it have to be her? Why not Josiah or her mom?"

"You really think they're gonna keep something like this from her? I'm surprised Alaric is even here. Esmeralda will know if he's lying in a heartbeat."

"Which is why he's offered to help Elena take care of Jenna tonight," Damon informed her. "But don't you dare say it, Bonnie."

They had a small stare down before Bonnie sighed. "I need her help, guys. I can't do this on my own."

Bonnie's phone finally buzzed with a response at that moment.

_You mean they're going after Katherine and I'm not apart of it? Rude_

Another buzz.

_I'm not sure what to be more upset about. Not being the main witch or the fact that they tried to hide something this big from me_

Damon glanced over her shoulder and made a loud groaning noise. "You mean you told her?"

"You really expected this to stay a secret?" Bonnie gestured to the living room. "Caroline would've caved sooner or later. There's no way she'd lie to Josiah."

There was a muffled yell of, 'I heard that!' from the other room, followed by a much quieter, 'You're right'. Bonnie crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow at Damon. He scowled down at her and sighed.

"Fine," he said through gritted teeth. "She can help. But, she can't be seen around here. Katherine would throw another bitch fit. You go to her, alright?"

Bonnie nodded. "Esmeralda and Josiah could help, too. The more witches, the better."

"Whatever. Now, get out of here, judgey."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and headed for the door. "Just remember to thank me later."

**xxxx**

Elowen was almost surprised to see Bonnie twice in one day. She was standing at their front door step, grimoire in hand.

"Hey," she greeted as she stepped inside.

"Hey. Any updates?"

"Yeah, actually." She turned and showed her spell book. "Looks like you need to dig up Esperanza's book of spells again. We have work to do."

Josiah came down the stairs, his phone up to his ear. "Okay, okay, got it. You know I'll help." He caught sight of Elowen and Bonnie and hastily started to hang up. "Gotta go. Love you."

"Caroline?" Bonnie questioned when he made it to them. He nodded.

"Yeah. So, what's the game plan?"

"What game plan?" Esmeralda had heard voices from the foyer and came to investigate. She must've been working, because her reading glasses were sitting on her nose. The three teenagers glanced at each other.

"We're taking down Katherine tonight."

**xxxx**

"Cold feet speak now. I don't want this going wrong if someone chickens out. Caroline." Damon glanced at her.

"I won't. Look, she killed me. Fair's fair. As long as there's no werewolf running around."

"Oh, I took care of Mason," Damon gloated. "As for Toby..."

There was a knock at the door. Everyone looked at each other.

"Are you expecting anybody?" Alaric asked. Damon looked at him and shook his head confusedly.

"No."

Together, Stefan and Damon made their way towards the front door. Their guard was up, so Stefan stayed slightly behind and hid in case he needed to fight. Damon went to answer the door. Standing on the other side was none other than Toby Lockwood.

"Speak of the devil- Ack!"

Toby had punched Damon full force and not expecting this, fell backwards onto the ground.

"That's for my dad, dickhead."

Everyone else came rushing to the door just as Stefan sped forward and slammed Toby into the wall. His forearm was up against Toby's neck, making him unable to move.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Naturally, Stefan had to put a lot of his strength into keeping Toby wedged between him and the wall. The kid was strong.

"I'm here to help! Let me go!"

"How do we know you aren't secretly teaming up with Katherine?" Damon was rubbing at his jaw as he stood up. Toby hissed at the sound of her name.

"You think I'd be a spy for the women who was responsible for getting my dad killed?"

"How do you even know about that? Did Elowen tell you?"

"No, but it wasn't hard to figure out something was wrong when Carol received that text. He wouldn't just leave me like that."

"Maybe we should give him a chance." Caroline stepped forward. "He's Elowen's friend and she trusts him. We have no reason not to."

Stefan glanced at Caroline. She was right. He'd done nothing to prove that he was working for the other team. He released his hold on Toby and watched as he bent over coughing.

"How do you even know what we're planning to do?"

"How else do you think?" Damon had rolled his eyes and mumbled, 'of course'. "Elowen called me and said you could use all the help you can get. So, here I am."

Stefan started to nod slowly. "Okay. I think I have an idea for you."

Toby stood up straight. "Good. As long as nobody gets hurt, I'm in."

"Except Katherine," Damon said. "Tonight, Katherine gets a stake through her heart."

**xxxx**

Getting a last minute masquerade outfit would've been difficult if it weren't for Caroline. She always had something up her sleeve.

Elowen entered with Esmeralda, while Caroline and Josiah entered separately. They figured it would look better that way, considering it was a known fact that Caroline still hung around Stefan and Damon. Elowen really didn't want anyone getting hurt.

Of course, the second they were inside, they caught sight of Luis. Elowen's breath hitched in her throat and she stopped. Esmeralda immediately stood up straighter and felt her mother protectiveness kick in, like it always did. Luis spotted them in the corner of his eye and smirked. Katherine appeared from the crowd, an identical smirk on her face and grabbed onto the collar of his suit jacket. She pulled him in and kissed him roughly. A few partygoers glanced in their direction, but for the most part, they were ignored.

Elowen and Esmeralda glanced at each other, but did their best to not show a reaction. They knew that's what they wanted. They walked in a different direction, but Elowen still pulled out her phone to tell Josiah.

_Luis is here. He's teamed up w/ Katherine. Tell Care_

She put her phone back in her purse and continued through the crowd with her mom. Jeremy had told them to meet him by the stairs, so that's the direction they headed in. Josiah was already there.

"Caroline?" Elowen asked under her breath.

"Went to tell you know who about dad." He grimaced the second the words left his mouth. They'd called that man dad their whole lives. They were trying their best to not anymore, but sometimes they slipped. Elowen immediately changed the subject so he wouldn't have to dwell on it.

"What are we waiting for?" She asked Jeremy. He nodded his head in the direction behind her. "Bonnie."

They turned just as Bonnie joined them. She smiled in greeting and they all turned back to Jeremy. He glanced around casually before walking up the stairs. Slowly, they all followed him one by one. If they all went in one big group, it would look suspicious.

"I thought this room could work," he said as they all entered an empty room.

"It's perfect," Esmeralda replied as she took a look around. "It's big enough for what we've got planned, but not too big. Good job."

Jeremy almost beamed at this praise. Nobody wanted him involved and almost never acknowledged he was there, so somebody finally seeing all he wanted was to help felt good. He set the back of weapons down on the table and started taking them out so Stefan and Damon would have access to them later. Bonnie and Elowen both took their grimoires out of their bags. Caroline nagged Elowen for wearing such a 'big, ugly purse' with her outfit, but she knew that if she just walked in with it, it would draw some eyes.

"Are those the spell books I read about in my family's old journal?" Jeremy asked. Everyone else in the room nodded.

"It belonged to our ancestors," Bonnie told him. "The spell we're gonna do it similar to the one that sealed the vampires into the tomb."

After hiding weapons around the room, Jeremy hid the bag in the closet in the room. "So, can you do all the stuff in there?"

"I mean, it takes practice. They can do more than me."

"How come?"

"We've been doing magic our whole lives," Josiah explained as he looked over Elowen's shoulder at their half of the spell. Naturally, putting up the seal was split into two parts, just like taking down the seal had been. Surprise, surprise. "It's sorta an advantage. More experience that way."

"I don't want anything to do with it, really," Bonnie said. "I'm only helping because I don't want anyone else getting hurt and I can't do this on my own. It never really ends well for people like me." At Jeremy's confused look, Bonnie sighed. "Salem witch trials ringing a bell?"

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Anyway," Esmeralda chimed in. "We better get started."

**xxxx**

"You need to let Stefan and Damon the room is ready," Elowen said as her, Jeremy and Bonnie walked through the party. Esmeralda and Josiah went one way while they went to the other. Elowen kept looking over her shoulder. She was keeping an eye out for Luis, in case he tried to approach her. Bonnie furrowed her eyebrows at her behavior. She was about to ask when a very odd feeling washed over her. Elowen must've felt it, too, because she stopped as well.

"Do you feel that?" She asked. Bonnie nodded.

"Yeah."

"Feel what?" Jeremy asked, confused. Bonnie and Elowen ignored him and spotted Lucy and Nora standing a little ways away. They both approached them and tapped on their respective shoulders. Both turned around.

"Excuse me, do we know you?" Bonnie asked. Her question was more directed towards Lucy, but she could see that Elowen was staring Nora up and down as if she were trying to place her somewhere.

"Nope." Lucy put on a smile. "We're plus ones, so we don't know anyone here. It's a great party, though."

"No, I know you," Elowen told Nora. She looked at Lucy in the corner of her eye in slight panic. If this was her family…. Slowly, it started to dawn on Elowen. She could vaguely remember seeing a much younger version of this woman at a family reunion. She was certain they played together once. Quickly, Lucy took hold of Nora and started to leave.

"We should get back to our date. It was nice meeting you!"

As they left, it finally fell into place in Elowen's head.

"Eleanore," she mumbled in realization. "I _do_ know her."

"What? How?"

"She's…. Like, my cousin or something. Second or third removed, whatever that means. I never understood that terminology." Elowen shook her head. "Nevermind that. If she's here… Then that means…"

"Katherine has at least one witch on her side."

**xxxx**

"Did you really have to kill the girl?" Luis asked Katherine. She'd just left Stefan to dispose of the body and had wandered outside of the party. Katherine shrugged.

"If I don't make statements, nothing will get done. She was just collateral damage."

Toby spotted her and mentally prepared himself. He had to remember the plan.

"_You'll be an inside distraction. Talk her up, make her think you're on her side," Stefan had told him. "Get information, if you can."_

"_And don't fuck up," Damon had quipped._

Toby rolled his eyes at the memory. He knew Damon didn't quite like him. The feeling was mutual. Whatever Elowen saw in him must've been worth it. Shaking his shoulders loose, he started to make his way towards Katherine.

"Ahh, Toby!" Luis greeted with a wide grin. "I remember when you were a little 6 year old in elementary school." He lowered his hand to the ground, mimicking a height stance. "You were this big. Now look at you."

Toby had to keep his cool. He'd never liked Luis, even as a young child. Then, of course, the beatings started. His mom, Mick, hadn't been too keen on it either, but there wasn't much they could do. He'd always worried about Elowen and her family once he moved away.

"Yeah, a werewolf with no parents." He glanced at Katherine. "I see you're still a suckup."

Katherine smirked at this while Luis scowled. "Watch it, kid. You can still bleed."

"So can you. Look, can I get a word with Katherine, alone?"

"It's okay, Luis," Katherine spoke up. "I'd like to see what baby Lockwood has to say."

Luis kept his glare on Toby even as he left. It wasn't until he was gone that Toby said anything. He turned to Katherine once they were by themselves. "I want in."

"In on what?" Katherine asked elusively.

"On whatever scheme you're pulling with the moonstone."

"I thought you wanted nothing to do with it?"

"That was before Damon offed my dad."

Katherine smirked again. "Vengeance. What a beautiful emotion. Why should I let you in on anything? Aren't you Elowen's little pet wolf?"

"Not anymore." Toby's lip curled. "Her little vampire plaything is the reason dad is dead. I can be your spy. Play both sides."

Katherine seemed to consider this. "Hmm. Let's say I agreed to this. How would I know you aren't playing both sides for them already?"

"You don't."

Katherine tilted her head and put a hand on her hip. "Alright, Lockwood. Tell me, what did Mason tell you about the stone?" She asked.

"Not much," Toby replied. "Just that it was important and that it would change our lives."

"Oh, how right he was." Katherine reach out and ran a finger across his jaw. "Did I ever tell you how _hot_ you are?" She sighed. "You Lockwood's have _such_ good genes." She caught sight of Stefan across the yard and smirked. She leaned in close to Toby and grabbed a fist full of his hair. "Find out everything you can about what Stefan and Damon are up to, got it?"

When Toby nodded, Katherine's smirk widened. It was obvious what she was about to do, so Toby confidently closed the gap and kissed her as passionately as he could muster. Behind him, Stefan's jaw clenched as he watched.

Was sending Toby in a good play after all?


	14. Chapter 14

"So, can you do like a hocus pocus spell to ace a test?" Jeremy was asking Elowen, Bonnie and Josiah. That's all he'd really been doing this whole time, which was funny considering him and Josiah were like best friends. He could've asked him all of this ages ago.

Esmeralda had gone to keep an eye out for Luis. While what was happening now was a pressing matter, to Elowen, Josiah and Esmeralda, this was much more important. Especially now that they knew he was working together with Katherine.

"You can," Elowen replied. She nodded her head towards Josiah. "This one tried it once and our mom caught him. He was grounded for, like, a month."

Everyone else laughed but Josiah half pouted, half glared at them.

"Shut up."

Jeremy's phone buzzed and all at once, they went quiet. He opened up the message from Damon as everyone else peered over his shoulders.

_Now._

Jeremy slid his phone back into his pocket and stood up. Josiah followed suit. The both of them were to approach Katherine and tell her that Stefan and Damon wanted her to meet them at the edge of the lake. They knew it would make her suspicious and that she would either threaten Caroline or put Toby's spy skills to work. Either way, the outcome would still be the same: Katherine getting trapped in the room.

Josiah and Jeremy left to find Katherine, which wasn't too hard. She was talking to two other women, whom they didn't know, but Josiah found himself eyeing the shorter of the two. When Nora realized he was looking, she started to panic. How many witches did the Salvatore gang have up their sleeve? And how many of them were her family?

"Hey, sorry, could we talk to my sister?" Jeremy asked. Lucy and Nora both bristled, but left anyway. Whatever conversation they were having definitely wasn't over.

"We have a message from Stefan," Josiah said once they were gone. Katherine quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"He and Damon want you to meet them at the edge of the lake by the woods," Jeremy took over. "They brought the moonstone."

"And why are you two their little messengers?"

"Because they know we're not afraid of you."

Katherine faux pouted at the two of them. "Oh, look at you two, being so courageous." She looked at Jeremy. "How's John by the way? Were they able to sew his fingers back on?" Then, she glanced at Josiah. "Your dad's such a catch, y'know that? Really, great kisser." Katherine smirked and started to walk off.

"Yeah, great kisser till he lays his hands on you," Josiah muttered under his breath. Naturally, Katherine heard, whether he meant for her to or not. She paused for a moment. Of course, she didn't know the full story between Luis and the others, just that they hated him, which was enough for her. If Josiah was implying what she thought he was…. Hmm. It wasn't her problem.

She resumed her walk back towards the Lockwood manor and didn't look back.

**xxxx**

"Any idea what Stefan and Damon are planning tonight?" Katherine asked Toby extra sweet when she found him. He downed the rest of his drink and set the empty glass down. Clearing his throat, he walked away from the party. Katherine followed.

"Caroline, bless her big mouth, told me that they've devised some plan to try and kill you. I'd really like to see them try."

"Kill me, huh?" Katherine crossed her arms. "Looks like it's time to pay that dumb blonde a visit."

"Well, now's the perfect time." Toby gestured to an empty hall Caroline was currently disappearing into. "She's alone."

They both followed her and waited until they were a good ways away from the crowd. Katherine snuck up behind Caroline, grabbed her wrist, pinned it against her back and pushed her against a nearby wall. Caroline yelped in response.

"What are Stefan and Damon up to?" Katherine sneered. Toby stood silently behind her. It took everything in him to not stop what was happening.

"What do you mean?" Came Caroline's reply. Katherine's grip tightened on Caroline's wrists.

"I've got Jeremy Gilbert and your little boyfriend luring me out to the lake. What's going on?"

"I don't know-!" Katherine spun her around and locked her hand around her throat. Toby cracked and flinched slightly at the loud thud noise made from Caroline being thrown into the wall. "... nothing," Caroline croaked.

"Don't lie to me, Caroline," Katherine said through gritted teeth. "They're up to something. What is it?" She started to choke Caroline in her vice hold to the point that she couldn't breathe. She was squirming in protest from beneath Katherine's hand.

"Wait, no, no!" Caroline managed to wheeze out. "Okay, they're trying to kill you."

Katherine rolled her eyes. "I know that much. What were they planning?"

"They were going to get you alone out in the woods. Bonnie and Josiah were supposed to subdue you so they could stake you. That's all I know, I swear!"

"Liar. Where's the moonstone?"

She was supposed to say Bonnie had it. Caroline knew that. But, knowing Elowen was here, helping, and that Katherine had no idea… well, you can imagine the temptation. So, what came out of her mouth instead, was…

"Elowen has it."

Toby's eyes widened from behind Caroline, that so very obviously screamed, 'What the hell are you doing?!'. Katherine's scowl grew deeper and her grip tightened some more on Caroline's neck.

"And where is the little witch bitch now?"

"I don't know."

Katherine raised Caroline off the ground, who kicked her legs around as it happened. She couldn't breathe again and tried to choke out an answer.

"She's upstairs! She's upstairs, I swear!"

Katherine dropped Caroline, let her fall back onto her feet carelessly and roughly seized her arm. "You're going to take me to her. Saying no isn't an option."

Caroline sobbed and looked pleadingly at Toby. They knew they needed to sell it, so she started to beg.

"Help me, please! You're supposed to be Elowen's friend."

As expressionlessly as possible, Toby stared down at her. "Not anymore."

Katherine shoved Caroline forward. "Enough whining. Now get moving before I kill you."

**xxxx**

"You guys are trying to kill her _here_?"

Elena had managed to get away from Alaric, who was supposed to keep her away from the party. If people saw two Elena's wandering around, they'd have trouble.

"We saw an opportunity and we knew we had to take it," Jeremy said. Elena started to shake her head.

"Okay, stop with the 'we'. Are you guys crazy? You're gonna get yourselves killed!"

"We know what we're doing, Elena," Bonnie cut in gently. "We went over this plan more than enough times. It's foolproof."

"Except for the fact that she has two witches on her side," Elowen mumbled. Bonnie elbowed her in the ribs. Elowen made a face of discomfort but went silent.

"And how am I supposed to feel if one of you guys gets hurt because of me? She's obviously here with a personal agenda against me because I look like her."

Elowen blinked repeatedly and put her hands up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. This was never about just you. She came here with a 'personal agenda' against all of us. If anyone was a main target here, it was me. I almost died because of her."

"Yeah?" Elena bit. "And Jenna almost died because of-"

"Finish that sentence," Elowen said with a dangerously calm voice. "I fucking dare you. Finish it."

Elena immediately shut up.

"Did it ever occur to you how it makes me feel, constantly being accused of people dying or getting hurt?" Elowen asked. Bonnie visibly got uncomfortable at this. She still felt guilty for that. "Katherine was the one who compelled Jenna. Katherine was the one who got her off the vervain. Katherine was the one who got herself invited in to even do this stuff. And you're saying I'm the one who pulled the trigger?"

Elowen clenched her hands into two fists to try and calm herself down. "It's not just you, Elena. She's messed with all of us. Mason, Toby, Vicki, Lexi," she started to list. "Me, Josiah, Caroline. Everyone. If you think this is just about you, then you're being selfish. So, yes, we're trying to kill her, here. Is that a problem?"

There was a long lapse of silence where nobody said a thing. Elowen looked between everyone until suddenly, she felt the familiar pull in the pit of her stomach.

_Elena screams as blood starts to spread across the back of her shirt. Jeremy, Bonnie, Josiah and her stand around, wide eyed, as they all rush to try and help her. Just as sudden as the last, a new wound appears on her arm. That, too, starts to stain her clothes with more blood. Everyone is confused, until at last, realization dawns on them. Elena and Katherine are linked._

"Oh my god." Elowen's eyes increased in size and she looked up at the window of the room where everything was about to go down. "They're connected!" She tripped on her feet as she started to run and quickly stops to pry her shoes off. "Everything that happens to Katherine is about to happen to Elena! I've got to stop them."

As Elowen disappeared, Elena started to panic.

"What? What's she saying? If Katherine dies, I do, too?!"

"We won't let that happen," Bonnie stated confidently. "You have my word." She watched Elowen dart through the crowd and into the building. "She'll make it."

**xxxx**

"Why do you keep dragging me into this?" Caroline cried loudly. "I don't want any part of it!"

"Shut up!" Katherine barked. She was dragging Caroline along as she spilled out barely comprehensive directions. "Just tell me which room it is."

"It's that one," Caroline quietly told her as she pointed out the correct door. Katherine threw her to the side and entered the room. Almost immediately, Caroline's sobbing turned into laughing. "I did it!" She proudly announced. "I really didn't think that I'd be able to fool you, but I did it!"

Katherine sped over and felt an invisible door trapping her inside the room. "What the…?" She turned around and spotted Stefan. "Stefan?"

"Hello, Katherine," he greeted.

"Goodbye, Katherine," Caroline said. She turned and left, leaving Toby on his own. Katherine looked at him with a snarl.

"Do something, you idiot!"

Toby merely smirked. "Rot in hell, Katherine." Then he left, too. Katherine growled and tried to rush out of the room again. When her attempts didn't work, she finally spun around and faced Stefan. She noticed the stake in his hand.

"You don't really think that you can kill me with that now, do you?"

"No." He shook his head. "But he can."

Damon came out of his hiding spot holding one of the compressed air guns. He shoots it at Katherine and the stake went through her back. Outside, Elena screeched in pain as Elowen's premonition began to come true.

Stefan sped over and drove his stake through her arm. Again, Elena screamed in pain. Her shirt was completely soaked in blood and Jeremy, Bonnie and Josiah were all surrounding her in worry. They didn't know what to do and could only hope that Elowen made it in time.

Elowen climbed the stairs as fast as her legs could carry her and rounded the corner just as Damon was about to stake Katherine. She yelled to gain their attention.

"Stop it! She's linked to Elena. Everything you're doing to her is happening to Elena."

Damon stopped short. He glanced up at her in surprise as Stefan let go of Katherine. She smirks and stands up.

"You think you two are the only ones with witches on your side? Wrong. And something tells me my witches might be better than yours."

"It's two against four," Elowen said shortly. "I think majority rules."

"You mean three," Katherine corrected. "The Bennett witch wants nothing to do with this, which leaves three, two of which aren't as experienced as their mother. Ergo, my witches mean business."

"Elle, go check on Elena," Stefan cut in before things could get ugly. "Make sure she's okay."

He would've told her to go check herself, but he knew she was too stubborn to do that. He was right when she pulled her phone out of her purse (how she managed to run with that wrapped around her shoulder, he had no idea) and dialed Josiah's number.

"She's bleeding pretty bad," Josiah told her when he answered. No greetings were said. In the background, she could hear Bonnie and Elena talking.

"Bonnie, it hurts," Elena was crying. She must've been in so much pain.

"I can't break the spell, Elena," Bonnie said. "I'm sorry, but I can try to take some of the pain away. Okay?"

Damon, Stefan and Katherine were all listening in. Nobody was paying her any attention and completely missed how she picked up a lone stake on the ground.

"Just a little pressure…" She muttered, cutting her hand with the point. Everyone looked over and Stefan quickly threw the stake out of her grip. On the other line, Elena yelled as the cut must've appeared on her hand, too.

Katherine picked the stake up again and pointed it at her stomach this time. "This is really gonna hurt." She lifted her hands up to stab herself, but Elowen stepped forward enough to where she was closer, but not inside the room.

"Wait!"

Katherine sighed and carelessly dropped the stake back to the ground. She sat down on the couch and looked around the room.

"Okay. So, how about that moonstone?"

**xxxx**

Bonnie had ran up to the room and collected Elowen just as she hung up with Josiah. She didn't say much as she dragged her off, but Elowen had an idea of what was going on. They arrived down to the dining room, where Lucy and Nora had been, but when they got there they were gone.

"Lookin' for us?"

Elowen and Bonnie turned around and found Lucy and Nora standing behind them. Nora had her hand on her hips and must've been the one who had spoken.

"Eleanore," Elowen acknowledged. "Don't think I've seen you since I was at least 11 or 12."

"It's Nora," she informed. She then glanced across the room, where Luis was watching them intently. "I see your dad's a vampire now. Did you mom finally leave him?"

Elowen tensed. It wasn't a secret within the family on what had been happening. It had been a mixed review from everyone. Some said Esmeralda needed to get out of there, while some told her that's how marriage was and she had to learn to deal with it.

"It's just how men are, honey," she remembered some distant aunt tell her mom once. It made her skin crawl. Elowen cleared her throat and stood up straighter.

"She did."

"Thank god. He was a prick."

In the corner of her eye, she could see Luis roll his eyes and leave the room. Vaguely, she wondered if Esmeralda was somewhere nearby, watching him like she said she would.

"Oh, cut the chit chat, will you?" Lucy cut in. She put her hands on her hips. "Should've known we'd run into a Bennett and a Ramirez."

"How do you know us?" Bonnie asked.

"Says the distantly related Bennett," Elowen mumbled at the same time Bonnie spoke.

Bonnie side glared at Elowen, who shrugged. She teetered between a smart mouthed hot head and being tired and emotional, which really, was depression in a nutshell, wasn't it? Didn't stop it from getting annoying at times.

"This one here figured it out." Lucy gestured to Elowen with a nod of her head. "Look, I have no interest in fighting you."

"I'm sorry, aren't you the one who cast a spell on her friend so she'll feel whatever Katherine feels?"

Bonnie stepped on Elowen's foot to try and get her to shut up. Elowen opened her mouth in a silent yell. Lucy dangerously narrowed her eyes at Elowen. Nora, on the other hand, was doing her best not to laugh. She knew they were on opposite sides, but that didn't mean she couldn't sit back and enjoy the show. Lucy turned her stare onto her and she turned her laugh into clearing her throat.

"If you give Katherine the moonstone, we'll lift it," Nora said.

"No," Elowen said immediately. "We're not handing a self absorbed, selfish, manipulative, scheming little bitch something she wants for some secret plan. You're only helping her because she has dirt on you."

Lucy and Nora shared a look. This one was a smart one, wasn't she? Nora sighed.

"Fine, I'll bite. Yes, she saved our lives and now we owe her. It's our time to pay up."

"Alright," Elowen started. "Let's try to strike up some sort of deal then."

"Elowen-" Bonne tried to say, but Elowen quickly cut her off.

"We can trust them."

"But-"

"I said we could trust them!" She turned back to Lucy and Nora. "They want out. We want Katherine gone. This stupid stone stands between that. Put the two together, and…"

"Problem solved," Lucy finished. "I'm in. What do you have in mind?"

**xxxx**

"The three of us together, just like old times," Katherine drawled from her spot on the couch. "The brother who loved me too much and the one who didn't love me enough."

"And the evil slut vampire who only loved herself," Damon said with a smile. "_Aaaand_ the lovely, beautiful, albeit mouthy little witch downstairs working to stop your diabolical plan."

Katherine scowled. "What happened to you, Damon? You used to be so sweet and polite."

"Oh, that Damon died a long time ago."

"Good. He was a bore."

"Oh, why don't you two stop antagonizing each other?" Stefan piped from his spot at the other side of the room.

"Where is the moonstone?" Katherine asked instead.

"What do you want with it?" Stefan retaliated.

"Does Elowen enjoy having both of you worship at her alter?"

There was a short pause as Stefan and Damon shared a look. Stefan turned back to Katherine and tried to hold back a smirk.

"That was really desperate, Katherine. Don't you think that we can see right through you?"

"The answer is yes, by the way," Damon answered. "Although, I think she's the one who doesn't like it. Unlike you, she prefers to do her own dirty work."

Katherine's jaw clenched. Damon was really set on pushing her buttons tonight, wasn't he? They stared at each other for awhile before anything else was said. Then, she turned her gaze onto Stefan.

"You mean to tell me that it doesn't bother you that Damon's in love with your girlfriend?"

"_Our_ girlfriend," Stefan stressed his correction to get his point across. Damon was playing with one of the various knick knacks in the room and tsked.

"We haven't figured out the whole threesome thing in bed yet, but boy am I sure we could come up with something pretty kinky."

Stefan sighed loudly. He could see Katherine trying her best not to give him a rise, but she was jealous by design and it was obvious she was doing her hardest to not explode.

"I could do this allll night, Katherine," Damon taunted. "Guess we'll see how long it takes to make you snap, won't we?"

With clenched teeth, Katherine retorted back. "What's it like knowing Elowen is in love with Stefan, but not with you?"

Damon face dropped slightly. He recovered just as fast. "What's it like knowing Stefan is in love with Elowen, but not with you?" He shot back. "That must really suck."

Stefan rubbed his hands over his face. This really was gonna be a long night, wasn't it?

**xxxx**

Toby and Caroline were walking through the party, both sharing equally smug grins when Caroline suddenly stopped. Her grin was gone and replaced by a look of worry. Toby stopped, too, and watched her with wary eyes.

"What? What's wrong?"

Without an answer, she grabbed his wrist and started dragging him as fast as she could without using her heightened speed.

"Something's wrong," she said quickly. "And I think I'm going to need your help."

Even though he was still confused, Toby followed her as well as he could without tripping over his feet as they both rushed upstairs. The sound of two people wrestling slowly came into earshot and the closer they got to Richard's office, the louder it became. Caroline nearly kicked the door down to get in.

"What's going on?!" She yelled at the sight of Tyler on the ground with Matt on top of him. "Stop it!"

Of course, they did the exact opposite. Tyler pushed Matt off of him and punched him square in the jaw.

"Hey!" Toby surged forward. "Knock it off!" He grabbed onto Tyler and pushed him backwards. He kept his arms wrapped around him and used some of his own supernatural strength to keep him at bay. Caroline stepped between them and Matt when he tried to approach Tyler again. Matt went around her and rushed Tyler, but she pushed him to the ground and stood closer to Tyler and Toby. Matt got up and tried to run at them again and, thinking quickly, Caroline grabbed onto his shoulders and hauled him back to the other side of the room.

"I can't!" Matt said as he struggled against Caroline. "Let me go, I have to finish!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Tyler asked from his spot in the room. He'd calmed down and Toby had let him go. At Matt's words, Toby suspiciously sized him up. Finish what?

"Let me go!"

As a last resort attempt to stop Matt, Caroline elbowed him in the face hard enough to knock him unconscious but not enough to severely hurt him. Tyler, Toby and Caroline all went over to check on him.

"How did you…?" Tyler started to ask in disbelief. Sarah, who had been completely forgotten about, secretly grabbed onto an envelope cutter while everyone was focused on Matt.

"Matt failed," she said in a monotone voice. "If Matt fails, I can't."

Toby turned and saw her raise the letter opener above Tyler and panicked.

"Tyler, look out!"

He pushed Tyler out of the way just before she stabbed him, but when Tyler turned and saw her about to attack him, his natural instinct was to shove her away from him. She tipped backwards and hit her head, hard, on the table. Immediately, he dove down to check on her.

"No, no! Come on, wake up! Sarah, open your eyes, wake up!"

Toby, also realizing the gravity of the situation, dropped down next to him. With shaky hands, he bent over to check her pulse as Tyler continued to freak out.

"This can't happen, this can't happen," he repeated over and over. "This can't be happening! Sarah, get up! Open your eyes!"

Toby felt around for a pulse much longer than he should have. He was also in a state of shock and the only thought that was going through his head was that he didn't want this life for Tyler. This had to be a cruel joke. Except, he lifted his eyes and made contact with Caroline, and the situation at hand became real. Next to him, Tyler grabbed onto his head and screamed.

"Tyler!" He called out. "Breathe, you need to breathe. Breathe!"

Tyler screamed again and Caroline stood up from her spot next to Matt.

"What's happening?!"

As an answer to her question, Tyler lifted his head just as his eyes gleamed amber. Toby felt hopeless as his worst nightmare came true.

Tyler had triggered the werewolf curse.

**xxxx**

Lucy and Nora calmly walked into the room where Stefan, Damon and Katherine were trapped.

"The spell on this room has been broken," Nora announced. Lucy held up the moonstone. Stefan and Damon both shared alarmed glances from behind Katherine. Why the hell did this random witch have the stone? And where were Bonnie and Elowen?

"When I hand this over, our debt to you is over."

"Done," Katherine said eagerly.

"We owe you nothing," Nora stated in return.

"I said done. Now give it."

"I wouldn't do that," Damon piped up from behind them. Lucy handed it over anyway. The second Katherine touched the stone, she couldn't breathe.

"You should've told us there were two other witches involved," Lucy said. "They were a Bennett and a Ramirez, Katherine, but we're sure you knew that."

"What about Elena? Is she gonna be okay?" Stefan asked as Katherine fell to the floor.

"She's fine," Nora reassured. "The spell's been broken. She'll heal quickly. Bonnie and Elowen are with her as we speak. We apologize for our involvement."

Lucy and Nora turned to leave just as Katherine went unconscious.

**xxxx**

"We were having a little party of our own, y'know?" Toby was explaining to Carol. "And Sarah got really, really drunk. She was dancing around and got a little out of hand." He glanced down at all the broken glass on the floor. "And then she slipped when we tried to calm her down. You know the rest."

"Okay." Carol nodded. She looked at Caroline. "Your mom's on her way and we called Sarah's parents. It was an accident. A terrible, tragic accident."

"Mom, the sheriff's here," Tyler said as he reentered the room.

"It'll go prepare her, just don't leave," Carol told them. "Stay here. She's going to want to hear the story from you."

"Matt's sleeping it off in the car," Caroline said. "I'll deal with him. I don't want him involved in any of this."

"What are you guys _doing_?" Tyler asked.

"Fixing a very bad situation," Caroline replied.

"Why? I did this! I killed her."

"Sshhh!" Toby shushed. He grabbed onto Tyler's shoulders and lowered his voice. "Keep it down! You don't want this getting out. Trust me, alright?"

"But she's dead!" Tyler whisper yelled. He glanced at Caroline and tried to quiet down even more. "Am I like you now? What am I supposed to do?"

"You won't be until the next full moon," Toby explained. He followed Tyler's line of sight and sighed. "It's okay. She knows."

"What?" Tyler's eyes widened. "How?"

"It's a long story," Toby dodged. "Look, go get some rest, alright? Caroline and I will finish up here."

Tyler nodded slowly. He left the room just as Sheriff Forbes came into the room. Toby and Caroline shared a look as they braced themselves to feed the fake story to Liz.

What a night.

**xxxx**

Stefan and Damon found Elowen talking to Josiah out in the parking lot. Josiah was telling her that he was going to catch a ride with Jeremy and Bonnie. He saw them coming from behind her and took his leave. Elowen turned and let out a breath of relief when she caught sight of them. Both walked forward to hug her, but she steered herself right into Damon's arms instead of Stefan's. He had to try his hardest to not be hurt or jealous.

"I'm taking Katherine to the tomb. She deserves to suffer."

"Good."

"I'm locking Luis in there, too. He's young and arrogant, so he'll be easy to take down. I thought you should know."

Elowen didn't say anything in response to this.

Damon pulled out of the hug. With a quick kiss to the crown of her head, he left to take care of business, leaving Stefan and Elowen on their own. The two of them stood there for a minute. It felt weird being able to be together again after breaking up because of Katherine. Finally, Elowen stepped over and closed the gap. She wrapped her arms around Stefan's waist and, without hesitation, Stefan's arms came to rest around her shoulders.

"I missed you," she mumbled against his chest.

"I missed you, too," he muttered back.

Elowen stepped back from the hug. "I think I'm gonna head home on my own. I need to clear my head."

Stefan nodded. "I understand. Just get back safe, okay?"

"I will."

Stefan leaned down to kiss her and then took his leave as well. Elowen sighed and started her way towards Esmeralda's car. Her keys were in her hand and she was getting ready to unlock it when she saw someone coming up behind Elena a few feet away. She was on her phone, so she didn't notice what was happening.

"Elena, watch out!" She yelled, running in her direction. Elena looked up just as she hung up, confused, but turned around and saw the masked person standing behind her. She opened her mouth to scream, but the person covered her mouth to silence her and knocked her out with chloroform.

Elowen reached Elena, punched the culprit as hard as she could and tried to make a grab for her. They seemed surprised for a moment, but quickly grabbed her and shoved the cloth over her mouth as well.

She was unconscious within seconds.

**xxxx**

**Author's Note**: Ah, it's finally time for Elijah to appear! I'm actually really excited for this. I'm still really satisfied with how season 2 turned out as it was my fave season of the series. I added some of my own twists and plot lines to this season that are completely unrelated to the series that I hope you guys will enjoy. Until next time!


	15. Chapter 15

"I asked for only one girl."

The area was secluded and only two cars stood parked for miles. The man in the four door had been the one to kidnap both Elena and Elowen, while it seemed like the man inside the SUV had been the one to give the orders.

"The second one intervined, almost ruined the operation," the first man explained. "If I didn't take her, neither would be here right now."

"Fine. Put them both in the back."

The compelled man opened the trunk of his car, revealing both Elowen and Elena cramped in the small space. He grabbed Elena first and put her in the trunk of the SUV, then did the same with Elowen. Despite the bigger car, they were still both shoved in together so they would fit.

"Thank you for your help," said the man in the car once the compelled man was done. He joined him up front.

"Is there anything else?" He asked.

"One more thing. Come closer, please." The man in the car beckoned the other towards him. He kept doing this until the compelled man was close enough for him to grab without going into the sun. When he was finally within reach, the man grabbed onto his hair and pulled him in to bite his neck. He drank the compelled man's blood until he was completely drained, then threw his body onto the ground.

Wiping his mouth, the vampire started the car and drove off.

**xxxx**

"Elle, get up!"

Josiah knocked on Elowen's door and waited for a reply or a noise, or something. Instead, he got nothing but silence. Knitting his eyebrows together, he turned the knob and opened the door. Her bed was empty and looked like it hadn't been slept in.

Assuming she stayed the night at Stefan and Damon's house, he shrugged and closed the door. Oh well.

He turned and headed downstairs to get ready for school.

**xxxx**

"He's got to know something," Damon said. Him and Caroline were talking in her room.

"Alright, I'll ask him," Caroline replied as she headed for her front door. Damon sped over and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt.

"No, you won't, Caroline!" He hissed. "He cannot know about us. A bite from a werewolf can kill a vampire, so don't be his friend! Do you understand me?"

"I understand," she answered in a quiet voice. "I'm late for school."

Damon let her go and said something about Aimee Bradley's body, but Caroline wasn't paying attention. She'd stopped just at her front door. Damon noticed and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"What? What's the matter?"

Slowly, she turned around.

"Toby's already told him that I know about all this."

Damon swore under his breath. "Damn it! I hate that little mutt. Okay, new plan. Ignore him. Tyler can't corner you if you dodge and to be honest, you're good at that."

"I resent that," Caroline said with a gasp. "Look, I'll try my best, okay? Let's go."

Caroline opened the door and the both of them left.

**xxxx**

"Hey, Josiah," Stefan greeted in the halls. Everyone was bustling about as they all headed to their first period classes.

"Hey! Look, I'm glad you and Elle are back together and everything, just, next time lemme know if she's spending the night," Josiah said to Stefan. "My mom's getting more and more cool with it because she knows she's safe with you guys, but if she doesn't know about it, she'll flip."

"What are you talking about?" Stefan asked, confused.

"Didn't Elowen crash at your place last night? I mean, you, her and Damon are all, like…. Back together, right?"

To be truthful, it still felt weird referring to the three of them as a couple. He didn't think he'd ever get used to it.

"Wait, wait… hold on a minute." Stefan reached out and put his hand on Josiah's chest to stop him from walking any farther. "She didn't come over last night. I saw her leave the party."

Josiah's face dropped. "What?" He shook his head to try and process what was happening. "Her bed hadn't been slept in and Mrs. Lockwood called this morning to tell us mom's car was still in the driveway, so I just thought that meant she was with you guys."

Stefan's face also became one of worry. "If she didn't stay at my place and if she's not home… where is she then?"

**xxxx**

The man from earlier had pulled up to an abandoned building and was carrying in both Elowen and Elena. They were slung over each of his shoulders. He tossed Elena carelessly onto the couch and dropped Elowen onto the armchair nearby. Both had their feet and hands tied up. He moved to remove the ropes on Elena first, who was starting to stir.

"What do you want?" She asked weakly.

"Ssh," the man shushed.

"Please, I'm hurt," she begged.

"I know. Just a taste."

Veins started to appear around his eyes and Elena gasped and tried to wiggle away from him as he leaned in.

"Trevor!" A voice snapped. "Control yourself."

Trevor clicked his tongue. "Buzzkill."

He got up and left just as Elowen started to wake up.

"What do you want with me?" Elena asked. Elowen did her best to sit up in the armchair and squinted her eyes as the small trickle of light in the room hit her eyes.

"Oh my god," the woman breathed. "You look just like her."

"But I'm not. Please, whatever you-"

"Be quiet!" The woman hissed. Of course, Elena did not take the que and kept talking.

"But I'm not Katherine," she said desperately. "My name is Elena Gilbert. You don't have to do this."

"I know who you are," the woman replied. "I said be quiet."

"Elena…" Elowen mumbled with warning. "I think you should listen to her."

"Yes, Elena, I think you should. Your friend has the right idea."

A small scowl appeared on Elena's lips. "She's not my friend."

"Don't care. Now, be quiet."

Instead, Elena stepped forward. "What do you want?"

The woman, finally fed up with Elena, drew her hand back and slapped her with a force so great, Elena flew back onto the couch, unconscious. Elowen flinched from her spot on the chair.

"I want you to be quiet," the woman answered after it was said and done. With a sigh, she glanced at Elowen. "You have anything to say?"

Elowen quickly shook her head. The woman sighed again and got onto her knees to take the ropes off of her.

"I'm Rose," she introduced quietly. Elowen stayed silent to be on the safe side. "And you are?"

Rose tossed the ropes aside and waited for Elowen's answer. When she didn't say anything, Rose looked at Elena and seemed to realize why she wasn't responding.

"You can speak, as long as you're not annoying like her."

Elowen couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her face. Rose smiled back when she got a reaction.

"Elowen," she said at last.

"Elowen," Rose repeated. "I like it." She stood up as Elowen moved herself into a much more comfortable position. "I'm sorry about all this. Our… caretaker-"

"Kidnapper."

"Watch it, or you'll end up like her."

Elowen quieted down. She knew when to be mouthy and when not to be.

"Like I was saying," Rose continued. "He must've confused you two for sisters. You being here was an accident."

"Not exactly," Elowen said. "I tried to save Elena, which was apparently a mistake, considering I ended up here."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "She appears to hate your guts, if you don't mind me saying so. Why try to help her?"

"It was the right thing to do," Elowen grumbled.

"Uh-huh. And how'd that work out for you?"

"Y'know, I'd be careful if I were you," Elowen snapped at her attitude. "One wrong move and Elijah will make sure you suffer."

In one swift movement, Rose had Elowen by the throat.

"How do you know about Elijah?"

"Your 'caretaker' messed up," Elowen croaked. Her hands were trying to pry Rose's from her neck. "He brought you a witch."

Rose released Elowen, who went into a coughing fit, and grabbed onto her temples. Of course, the spell wouldn't affect her the same way it would Stefan or Damon. She was older, much older, but it would still cause her some discomfort.

Rose rubbed at her head with a look of annoyance.

"Damn it," she swore once Elowen lifted the spell. "You're lucky Elijah might need you or you'd be dead."

Elowen tilted her head. "Need me? Why would- Oh my god. The curse?"

"You know your stuff," Rose stated. "Now, be quiet or I'll make sure you feel pain."

Elowen zipped it pretty quickly and watched as Rose left the room.

**xxxx**

"This has Katherine written all over it," Stefan was telling Damon. They were standing near the parking lot at the high school. He'd called Damon the second he knew Elowen was missing. Josiah had disappeared, presumably to call Esmeralda to fill her in.

"Katherine's in the tomb," Damon stated obviously. "Trust me. I'm the one that shut her, and that good for nothing dead-beat dad, in it."

"... Did you?"

"Excuse me?" Damon asked with wide eyes. "Are you insinuating that I let them go free?"

"Well, I mean," Stefan shifted his weight, "Katherine had a hold on you for so long."

Damon scoffed. "You should hear yourself, Stef. I can't believe you're even saying this. Both Katherine and Luis are in the tomb, period. End of story." Except….. Damon remembered what Katherine tried to say before he locked her in. "But she did say something to me before I shut her in. I thought she was lying."

"What did she say?" Stefan pushed.

"That Elena and Elowen are in danger."

"What?" Stefan burst. "And you didn't think you should ask her to elaborate?"

"Everything she says is a lie," Damon deadpanned. "How am I supposed to know if she's gonna start spouting out the truth?"

"We have to talk to her."

"No, no." Damon shook his head. "Let me tell you how that's gonna go: we're gonna go ask her for help, she's gonna negotiate her release, which we're gonna be dumb enough to give her and she's gonna get out and kill us! Not to mention that means letting Luis go and there is no way in hell I'm letting him out."

"I don't really care," Stefan said.

"It's a bad idea, Stefan," Damon warned.

"It's Elowen."

"Yeah, and when she finds out we just let Katherine go? No. We'll find another way. Ask Esmeralda if she knows anything."

**xxxx**

"Caroline."

Caroline was walking in the hallway and turned when she heard her name. It was Tyler. She mentally took a deep breath and prepared herself. Time to play the dodging game.

"Hey!" She greeted with a cheery smile. "How are you doing?"

"Not good," Tyler replied.

"Oh. How's your mom? My mom said she was pretty freaked out about everything that happened with Sarah."

"How did you know?" Tyler asked instead. Caroline shook her head in faux confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"About me. How did you know? Toby said you know. How?"

"Look, I think the shock is messing with your memory," Caroline stated. "Toby meant that I knew the truth about what happened and that you could trust me. I thought I was doing a good thing by helping cover for you."

"No, no, that's not what he meant. I know it."

"Look, it was an accident, okay?" Caroline saw Josiah in the distance and started to move in his direction. "I've gotta run. Just, please don't blame yourself."

And then she scurried off.

**xxxx**

"How's the girl?" Rose asked Trevor. He shrugged.

"Still passed out."

"And the other?"

Trevor cast a glance in the direction of the room Elowen and Elena were in. "Fine. She's just sitting there. It's creepy."

"Just be glad she's not trying anything. She's a witch, Trevor."

"Whatever. So, you called him?"

"No, I called one of his contacts. You know how this works."

In the room, Elowen was trying her best to listen in. They were standing right outside the door, but they were speaking quietly and she almost couldn't hear them. Behind her, Elena was starting to come to. She didn't notice.

"Did you or did you not get the message to Elijah?" Trevor asked.

"They say he got it," Rose replied.

"Wonderful. Now what?"

Elena groaned and Elowen finally turned around and saw her. Quickly, she rushed over as quietly as she could and covered her mouth.

"Why aren't we running?" Elena mouthed when Elowen removed her hand.

"Too dangerous," Elowen mouthed back.

She glanced at one of the uncovered windows and had an idea. She nodded her head in that direction. Elena followed. Elowen started looking for something to break the window, but all she could find was a chair. Deciding that was good enough, Elowen threw the chair as the window as hard as she could. It was already old and slightly damaged, so it broke easily. Elowen immediately climbed through the broken window and landed on the ground with a soft thud. Unfortunately, when Elena tried, Rose grabbed onto her ankle before she could fully make it outside and dragged her back in.

"There's nothing around here for miles!" Rose taunted with her arm around Elena's neck. "If you think you're getting anywhere soon, you're tragically wrong. Now, you can go on a wild goose chase to find help, or you can be smart and come back in the house. The doppelganger can still bleed, y'know."

"Elowen, go," Elena sobbed. "Please, find help."

"Shut up!" Rose tightened her grip on Elena, who cried out. It took a few moments, but Elowen gave in and carefully crawled back through the window.

"Good girl," Rose praised as she tossed Elena to the side. "I underestimated you. You are the smart one, after all."

"Who's Elijah?" Elena asked meekly from her spot on the ground. Rose turned and looked down at her.

"He's your worst nightmare."

**xxxx**

Esmeralda had just about dropped everything and headed to the school the second, 'Elowen's missing' left Josiah's lips. They were all standing inside Alaric's classroom now. Esmeralda had brought everything she needed and had it spread out on Ric's desk.

"How does this work?" Jeremy asked as Esmeralda and Josiah placed the candles on each corner of the map.

"It's a locator spell," Josiah started to explain. "It'll help us pinpoint where Elowen and Elena are."

Esmeralda held up the same necklace she used the last time she had to scry for Elowen when Damon had kidnapped her and taken her to Atlanta. "This belongs to Elowen. It makes the connection stronger. You can use blood, too, but it's a bit too messy. I'll say a spell and the necklace will land wherever they are."

"Alright, Alaric said we've got to clear out of here within ten minutes," Stefan said as he entered the room. He closed the door behind him and set a bag on one of the desks. "I've got weapons. He stocked me up."

Esmeralda took a deep breath and grabbed onto Josiah's hand. It would make the spell stronger and help enhance their chances at finding Elowen if not one, but two of her blood relatives did the spell. Together, they started to chant the spell. Just like before, Elowen's necklace started to circle around on its own and got faster and faster until it landed on its location.

"There." Esmeralda pointed at the map. "She's there."

"That's 300 miles away," Jeremy stated the obvious. Stefan shook his head.

"No, we need a more exact location than that."

"I'm sorry, dude." Josiah shrugged. "Magic doesn't work that way. This is the closest we can get."

"We can map it," Jeremy suggested. "Aerial view will show us what's around there, help us narrow down the area."

"Perfect." Stefan started to leave the room. "Call me with whatever you find."

"Wait! I'm coming with you!"

Josiah grabbed onto Jeremy's arm before he could even take a step.

"No, you're not. This is serious, Jer. You could die. You're staying here."

"But-"

"What would Elena think if her baby brother died because he tried to run into a house full of vampires unprepared?"

Jeremy sighed. "He can't do this alone."

Josiah couldn't help but laugh. "You really think Damon's gonna let Stefan be the hero in Elowen's rescue mission?"

"Talking about me, I see," Damon said as he entered the room. "Let's go."

**xxxx**

"Your mom and Alaric just left with Jenna," Bonnie said as she walked into Jeremy's bedroom.

"They're getting her out of the house for awhile so she doesn't ask questions about Elena," Jeremy explained, coming up behind Bonnie. Josiah had his laptop out and was searching around the area Esmeralda had found.

"Look, I pulled this up based on that spot on the map." He turned his laptop to show Jeremy and Bonnie. "There's nothing for miles except for this old house."

"Did you send it to Stefan?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah." Josiah nodded.

"I hate sitting here." Jeremy threw himself on his bed. "I feel so useless."

Bonnie said something, but Josiah didn't catch it. He sat up straight in his chair and quickly shut his laptop.

"I have an idea," he interrupted. "I need a candle and something of Elena's. Hurry!"

Both Jeremy and Bonnie jumped into action. One went one way while the other went the other way. Jeremy came back with a candle and Bonnie returned with a bracelet.

"What's all this stuff for?" Jeremy questioned as he set the candle down.

"There's this spell I remember seeing in Esperanza's grimoire once," Josiah started to elaborate. "I don't know if it'll work because I've never done it before, but I might be able to get them a message."

He looked around before spotting a notebook and a pen next to it. Ripping out a page, he wrote the message he wanted to send in large letters. He crumpled the piece of paper and reached out for Bonnie's hand.

"Extra power will help make this more successful," he told her. Bonnie grabbed his hand without hesitation. If this could really send a message to Elena, she'd do anything for it to happen. Taking a deep breath, Josiah held the paper just above the candle and started chanting a spell.

The paper started to burn up the longer the spell went on, but it must've been too much for Bonnie because her nose started to bleed. Jeremy noticed this and immediately became alarmed.

"Bonnie? Bonnie!" He started to shake her, but she refused to let go of Josiah's hand. The page in Josiah's hand finished burning up and completely disappeared, signaling the end of the spell. Bonnie smiled in triumph.

Josiah and Jeremy could only watch as her eyes rolled to the back of her head and as she fell backwards onto the bed, fainted.

**xxxx**

After trying to escape and failing, Elena and Elowen stayed in the room they were put in. It was eerily quiet as nobody said anything, except for the occasional whisperings of Rose and Trevor. Finally, apparently fed up, Elena stood up from her chair and strode out of the room.

"Elena!" Elowen quietly called out. "Elena!"

When she didn't show signs of listening for coming back, Elowen grumbled and got up to follow her. By the time she caught up, Elena was already in the middle of a conversation with Rose.

"... It's not like I can go anywhere," Elena was saying. "The least you can do is tell me what you want with me. It's obvious Elowen wasn't meant to be here."

"Ouch," Elowen mumbled to herself. She was standing a few feet behind Elena now. Rose pursed her lips. This one was rather annoying, wasn't she? She was very tempted to slap her unconscious again so she wouldn't have to deal with her anymore.

"I personally want nothing," Rose said at last. "I'm just the delivery service."

"Delivery to who? Elijah?"

"Two points to the eavesdropper." Rose glanced at Elowen. "Or did your lovely witch friend tell you that?"

"I told you, she's not my friend," Elena said through gritted teeth. She paid no mind to Elowen, even though she knew she was standing just behind her. "Who is he? Is he a vampire?"

"He's an Original," Elowen replied instead. Rose snapped her head towards her and zoomed in front of her.

"How do you keep knowing these things without being told? Who are you?"

"My name is Elowen Ramirez. I'm an elemental witch."

Elowen watched as Rose's eyes slowly widened.

"Oh my god. A Ramirez?"

Then, a wide grin broke out on her face.

"A Ramirez!" She exclaimed. "God, today really is my lucky day, isn't it?"

Elowen furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Elijah is going to need you, after all!"

"Wha- Huh?"

"The Originals, they have this special relationship with- oh, nevermind that. There's no way Elijah can't not pardon us now."

Elowen opened her mouth to protest. What special relationship? What was Rose talking about? Except….

"Who are the Originals?"

Rose turned back around to face Elena. She had forgotten she had been standing there.

"Again with the questions." She rolled her eyes. "Haven't the Salvatore's been teaching you your vampire history?"

"So you know Stefan and Damon?" Elena asked.

"I know_ of_ them," Rose replied. "A hundred years back, a friend of mine tried to set me up with Stefan. She said he was one of the good ones." Rose smiled fondly. "I'm more of a sucker for the bad boys, though, but I digress."

Elowen shared the same smile as Rose. "Lexi."

Rose's eyes found Elowen again. "You know Lexi? How's she doing?"

The smile left Elowen's lips. "She's dead. Katherine killed her."

Rose's face went blank. "I see. What a shame. Lexi was a good friend."

"Are you going to answer my question or not?" Elena snapped. She was tired of the subject being changed when she was trying to get answers. Maybe if Elowen weren't here, she would have them already.

Rose sighed, irritated. Would she ever shut up?

"Trevor and I have been running for 500 years. We're tired, we want it over. We're using you to negotiate ourselves out of an old mess."

"But why me?"

"Because you're a Petrova doppelganger. You're the key to breaking the curse."

"You mean the sun and moon curse?" Elowen asked. "I thought the moonstone was what broke the curse."

"Oh, I get it. The smart one knows her history and you don't. For your information, no, the moonstone is what binds the curse. The sacrifice is what breaks it."

Elowen's face had gone slack. "Sacrifice as in…. Elena."

"Correct. The blood of the doppelganger. She's the doppelganger. Which means, in order to break the curse, she's the one who has to die."


	16. Chapter 16

"Tell me more," Elena demanded.

"Captivity has made her pushy, eh?" The three turned as Trevor arrived. "What do you want to know, doppelicious?"

"Who were you running from?"

"The Original's," Trevor answered.

"Yeah, she said that. What does that mean?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Elowen asked rhetorically. "The Original vampires."

"She's the smart one," Rose whispered loudly to Trevor. Elena rolled her eyes.

"Okay, so why are you running from them?"

"He made the same mistake countless others did," Rose started to say.

"He fell in love with Katherine Pierce."

Trevor made a face once Elowen had said it. "I knew her as Katerina Petrova."

"The first Petrova doppelganger," Rose said.

"I helped her escape her fate and now we've been marked ever since," Trevor explained.

"Sorry, hang on," Elowen cut in. "If you're the one who helped her escape, why is Rose paying the price?"

"Trevor is like my brother," Rose answered. "I had his back. Since we're a package deal… I was marked when he was. And we're not gonna make the same mistake again."

"Which is?"

"Trust a Petrova doppelganger."

**xxxx**

Back in the room from before, Elowen plopped onto the couch. Something crinkled under her weight and, out of curiosity, she pulled it out and unfolded the piece of paper.

_Stefan and Damon are coming for you -Joey_

Elowen smiled. Of course they were.

**xxxx**

Caroline huffed as she entered her house. Dodging Tyler all day had been hard, and she'd definitely tipped him off when she had subdued him near the buses earlier that afternoon. He knew she was stronger than she should be now.

She pulled out her phone to check for any updates from Josiah; he'd told her about Elowen and Elena this morning, but she couldn't do anything about it because of Tyler. There was a creak that sounded throughout the house. Caroline looked up.

"Mom?"

She put her phone away and cautiously stepped farther into the house. She heard a noise behind her and turned around. Tyler was standing directly behind her. Goddamnit.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"I know," he replied shortly.

"Breaking and entering into the sheriff's house?" Caroline scoffed. "That move will win you an award."

"Go ahead." Tyler nodded. "Keep dodging, keep changing the subject, but I know. You're just like me, aren't you?"

"No."

What was he talking about?

"Keep it up, but I'm not buying it," he pressed. "I saw how strong you were. I'm not leaving here until you tell me the truth. Toby said you know and then all of a sudden you're clueless? I call bullshit."

"Tyler…"

"You're a werewolf. Say it!"

There was a pause. And then… Caroline broke into laughter.

"What?"

Tyler roughly pushed her against the wall in frustration.

"Stop lying!" He yelled.

"I'm not lying!"

"Say it!" He slammed his hand into the wall next to her head. A picture fell from said wall and crashed onto the floor, followed by the sound of breaking glass.

Acting on instinct, Caroline used her speed to switch spots with Tyler and vamped out. She hissed and threw him on the ground. Tyler quickly crawled backwards, away from her. He was terrified.

"I'm not a werewolf, okay?"

**xxxx**

"Here, drink this."

Jeremy handed Bonnie a glass of water. She'd come to a few minutes ago.

"Thanks."

"What happened?" He asked both Bonnie and Josiah. "You scared the hell out of me."

"It's nothing," Bonnie brushed off.

"It wasn't nothing, Bonnie."

"Magic… it can wear you down," Josiah started to explain. "Especially if you do a spell you weren't ready for or if you're new, like Bonnie."

"When I'm worn down, I take a nap," Jeremy stated. "You were…. You were unconscious."

"Witchcraft has its limits," Bonnie said with a tired smile. "If I push too hard, it pushes back."

"How do you know all of this?"

Bonnie nodded her head towards Emily's grimoire, which she had brought in case they needed it. "It's all in there. It's like a reminder that I'm not invincible. Just… please, don't tell anyone."

Josiah understood. If anyone knew, they would know when witches were vulnerable and they would know when to attack.

"Why not?" Jeremy questioned.

"Because it's not good for your enemies to know your weaknesses," Josiah replied. He saw Bonnie nod her head in the corner of his eye.

"Like Damon?"

Josiah sighed. He was starting to warm up to Damon, very slowly, but it was happening. And he knew how much Damon had changed since first coming to town, all thanks to his sister.

"I know you two still don't trust him, hell, I don't either, but I don't think he's an enemy anymore. He loves Elowen too much to hurt anyone she cares about."

Jeremy and Bonnie shared a look.

"If you're sure…" Jeremy mumbled uncertainly. "But, I won't tell anyone, okay? I promise."

"Thank you."

**xxxx**

"We're getting close," Stefan observed. "Jeremy said there's an access road just past mile marker 6."

Damon nodded and reached for the backseat. He pulled out a blood bag and started drinking from it. He glanced at Stefan and jokingly offered the bag to him.

"Want some?"

"Yes."

Damon blinked and glanced over at his baby brother. Stefan looked completely serious.

"I get it. You want to be all big and strong to help save Elowen, but you don't have to worry. I've got your back, it'll be fine."

"Yeah, and let you have all the glory?" Stefan laughed; he was kidding. Kind of. "Look, I'm not joking. I've been drinking a little everyday. I'm slowly increasing my intake and building my strength. My control has been good so far."

With his eyebrows crinkled, Damon handed over the blood bag. Stefan took it and had a sip.

"... So, does Elowen know you're drinking human blood?"

"I've, uhh, sort of been drinking hers." Stefan said cautiously. He was glad Damon wasn't holding the blood bag, because his hands closed onto the steering wheel in a tight grip.

"And you didn't think to tell me?" Damon asked through clenched teeth. "You know how serious blood sharing is, Stefan."

"I was going to, I swear," Stefan told him. "There was just never a time or a place, and I knew you'd be upset-"

"Yeah, that's an understatement," Damon snarked.

"We don't have time to fight over this, okay? Our goal here is to save Elowen and Elena. You can punch me later."

"Careful, little brother. I might take you up on that offer."

**xxxx**

"He's here!" Trevor announced frantically. "This was a mistake."

"No," Rose said firmly. "I told you I would get us out of this. You have to trust me."

"No! He wants me dead, Rose!"

"He wants her more." Rose glanced at Elena. "The other is just a bonus."

"I can't do this." Trevor shook his head. "You give them over to him. He'll have mercy on you, but I need to get out of here."

"Hey!" Rose grabbed onto Trevor's shoulders. "What are we?"

"We're family," Trevor responded. "Forever."

There was a knock on the door that caused Trevor to jump.

"You're scared." Elena's eyebrows were furrowed. She still wasn't seeing the seriousness of the situation. Elowen, on the other hand, did, which is why she was standing behind the couch as if it would protect her. Elijah must've been someone to fear if these two very old vampires were so shaken up.

"Stay here with these two and don't make a sound," Rose ordered. She left the room, and then there were three.

Elijah had let himself into the house just as Rose exited the room.

"Rose-Marie," he greeted. "Is there somewhere we can talk?"

"Yes, in here." She gestured to an empty room. "You have to forgive the house."

"Oh, what's a little dirt? I completely understand. So, tell me, what is it that gives you the courage to call me?" Elijah asked.

"I wanted my freedom," Rose replied. "I'm tired of running. You in a position to grant me that?"

"I have complete authority to grant pardon to you and your little pet. What is his name these days? Trevor, if I see fit."

"Katerina Petrova?" Rose offered. Elijah lifted his chin in interest.

"I'm listening."

"She didn't burn in the church in 1864."

"Continue."

"She survived."

"Where is she?"

"You don't seem surprised by this," Rose noted.

"Oh, when you called and invited me into this armpit of civilization, which is a mere three hours from the town we know as Mystic Falls, I surmised that it had everything to do with Katerina. Do you have her in your possession?" Elijah asked.

"No," Rose said. "But, I have better. I have her doppelganger."

"That's impossible." Elijah shook his head with confidence. "Her family line ended with her. I know that for a fact."

"The facts are wrong," Rose responded.

"Well, show her to me." Elijah stood up from where he had sat down earlier, but Rose quickly jumped in front of him.

"Wait, there's more."

Elijah looked down at her with a quirked eyebrow.

"I have a Ramirez witch in my custody."

Elijah's face suddenly went stoic. Rose felt her anxiety spike at this. A Ramirez? Here? Elijah immediately started making his way out of the room.

"Show me."

"Elijah, you are a man of honor," Rose spoke in a rushed voice, following Elijah. "You should be trusted, but I want to hear you say it again."

"You have my word that I will pardon you."

"Follow me."

Elijah followed Rose through the main doors and stopped short when he saw Elena. He sped in front of her and smelled her neck.

"Human. It's impossible. Hello there."

Elijah started searching the room for the other one and soon found Elowen behind the couch. Complete and utter shock spread across his face. No, there was absolutely no way….

Elowen felt herself jolt into a premonition.

_A little girl running through the forest, barefoot, in nothing but a long white nightgown. She was giggling loudly. "'Lijah! You can't catch me!"_

_Sure enough, Elijah, with much longer hair, was a few feet behind the girl, chasing her._

"_We'll see about that, little one!"_

_Elijah sped up slightly, reached out and grabbed the little girl in his arms. She shrieked as Elijah spun her around and wobbled when he set her down. Finally, the little girl's face came into clear view and…_

_It was Elowen._

Elowen gasped loudly and grabbed onto the couch when her vision ended. She was more confused than ever. She'd never seen this man in her life, yet it was clearly a young version of her in that premonition.

Rose, Trevor and Elena all stared as Elijah and Elowen shared a long look, both of their mouths agape.

"Hello," Elijah said at last. "And your name is?"

"Elowen."

"Well, Elowen," Elijah turned glanced back at Rose and Trevor, "we have a long journey ahead of us. We should be going."

"Please, don't let him take me," Elena begged to Rose. She turned to Elowen. "Do something! You're the witch, do that headache thing!"

Elowen shook her head. "I can't," she whispered. Something in her didn't want to try and hurt Elijah. Something kept telling her that she would be safe with him, that he was familiar even though he was a stranger. She _knew_ him. But how?

"Why not?!"

"Elena, he's god knows how old and stronger than any vampire we know. You really think a measly spell like that would work on him?"

"It worked on Rose!"

"Barely! She's nothing compared to him!"

They were having a screaming match by this point. Nobody else really knew what to do. Finally, Elijah loudly cleared his throat. Elowen and Elena stopped, but wouldn't stop glaring at one another.

"One last piece of business and then we're done," he stated. He headed towards Trevor.

"I've waited so long for this day, Elijah," Trevor said. "I'm truly, very sorry."

"Oh, no, your apology isn't necessary," Elijah replied as he came closer.

"Yes, yes it is," Trevor insisted. "You trusted me with Katerina and I failed you."

As the conversation continued, Elowen felt a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her glare faded and she carefully walked around the couch towards Elena, who still had her eyes narrowed.

"Elena, close your eyes," Elowen told her quietly.

"Why should I listen to you?" Elena barked in a matching quiet tone.

"Because if you don't, I think you're going to see something you don't want to."

With a huff, Elena closed her eyes. Elowen did the same and closed hers just in time. A loud, squelching noise sounded throughout the room, followed by Rose's screams. Slowly, Elowen opened her eyes and saw Trevor's headless body. She gagged at the sight.

"You two, come," Elijah ordered.

"No, what about the moonstone?" Elena said quickly before Elijah could grab her.

"What do you know about the moonstone?" He asked curiously.

"I know that you need it and I know where it is," Elena said in one go.

"Yes?"

"I can help you get it." She kept talking in a rushed tone as if her life depended on it. And, well, it sort of did.

"Tell me where it is."

"It doesn't work that way."

Elijah tilted his head. "Are you negotiating with me?" He looked back at Rose, who shook her head.

"It's the first I've heard of it."

Elijah stepped forward to try and compel Elena, but Elowen felt the words spilling out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Something about him made her want to trust him.

"It's in the tomb, underneath the church ruins in Mystic Falls."

Elena turned to look at her with wide eyes. "Why would you tell him that?!"

"He would've compelled it out of you either way!"

"Alright, ladies, enough," Elijah cut in before their arguing could get worse. "What is the stone doing in the tomb?"

"It's with Katherine," Elowen found herself saying before she could do anything about it.

"Interesting."

Shortly after, there was a sound of breaking glass from upstairs.

"What is that?" Elijah questioned to Rose.

"I don't know," she replied.

"Who else is in this house?" He asked again.

"I don't know."

Elijah grabbed Elena, went to make a grab for Elowen, but found himself surprised when she started to go with him willingly. As they made their way to the other part of the house, two, maybe more, figures used their vampire speed to rush around the four of them. Elijah tossed Elena over to Rose.

"I don't know who it is, I swear," Rose said as she caught Elena. Elijah stepped forward just as a voice rang out from upstairs.

"Up here."

Elijah sped up the stairs just as another voice taunted from another area.

"Down here."

There was the sound of a weapon firing and a stake came flying out of nowhere. It punctured Elijah through the hand. He removed it and threw it to the ground, but found Elowen, Rose and Elena gone when he looked up.

Stefan had grabbed Elowen and Elena while Damon had grabbed Rose. Both of them were telling the girls to be quiet as Elijah started to speak.

"Excuse me," he called out loudly. "To whom it may concern, you're making a great mistake if you think you can beat me. You can't. Do you hear that?"

Elowen felt her heartbeat spike. She knew he was right. She opened her mouth to say something, but Stefan raised a finger to his lips. She closed her mouth again.

Sounds of something being broken could be heard as Elijah continued.

"I repeat, you cannot beat me. I want the girls. I'm going to count to three or heads will roll. Do we understand each other?"

Before Stefan could stop her, Elowen squirmed out of his grip and ran to the top of the stairs.

"I'll come with you! Please, don't hurt my friends, they just wanted to help us out. They're protective and stubborn and a little stupid sometimes, but they mean no harm."

Elijah sped up the stairs and stopped a few feet away from Elowen. He was holding a big, makeshift stake that heavily worried her.

"What game are you playing with me?" He asked. "You say you'll come with me. Why?"

"I don't know."

Elijah stepped closer to her and came to rest just in front of her. He raised a hand and hovered it just above her cheek. Elowen felt herself leaning into his hand. He felt like… family.

"Why do I feel like I know you?" She asked in a low whisper.

At that moment, Elena came out of hiding and threw a vervain grenade at the two of them. It exploded, causing Elijah to hiss in pain and Elowen to fall into the railing. The vervain did absolutely nothing to Elijah; he healed just as fast as he'd been injured.

Stefan came out of his hiding spot, holding one of Alaric's compressed air weapons, and shot it multiple times at Elijah. It had no effect whatsoever. Stefan tossed the weapon aside and rushed forward, tackling Elijah to the bottom of the stairs.

Elijah took a step towards Stefan in a means to advance on him, but Damon appeared out of nowhere and used the makeshift stake from earlier to stake Elijah. He must've been caught off guard, because it worked. Elowen let out a strangled cry and felt a few tears roll down her face. Frantically, she wiped them away before anybody could notice. What the hell was wrong with her?

She had so many questions. Why did she feel like she knew Elijah? Why did she trust him so easily? And most importantly, why was she crying over his death? Why would she feel like she'd been stabbed in the gut watching him get staked if he were just a stranger? Her only means of answers was currently pinned to the front door.

"Hey, come here," Stefan gently called as he approached Elowen. "Are you hurt? Are you okay?" He gave her a once over and, upon seeing she was fine, pulled her into a tight hug that she didn't reciprocate. She was too busy staring at Elijah's body.

"... I'm fine," she said, quietly, at last. Stefan pulled back and followed her line of sight.

"He can't hurt you anymore." Stefan cupped her face. "You're okay. You're safe." He leaned forward and placed a tender kiss on her forehead.

"Step aside, brother," Damon said from behind Stefan. "I think it's my turn."

Elowen cracked a smile and sighed deeply into Damon's shoulder when he embraced her. Her eyes fell shut and she suddenly felt herself get very tired.

"Can we just get out of here?" She asked against Damon's arm. In one swift movement, he lifted her up and wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Easier said than done. Let's go."

**xxxx**

"Oh my god, Elowen."

Josiah ran forward and hugged his big sister as tightly as he could when he saw her exiting Damon's car. There was a similar reunion with Bonnie, Jeremy and Elena a few feet away.

"God, I was so worried," Josiah said, beginning to get choked up. Elowen felt her own eyes water as she wiped away the wetness on his face.

"Well, I'm all better now." She stepped away from the hug. "I got your message. Nice thinking, kiddo. We should get home before mom worries herself to death."

"We'll take you home," Stefan offered. "Make sure you get there safely."

"Thank you."

The two siblings piled into Damon's car and set off for home.

**xxxx**

Stefan was settled in the library after dropping Elowen and Josiah off at their house. Him and Damon had waited until they were safely inside the house and Esmeralda and Alaric had them before they left.

There was a noise and when he looked up, saw a flurry of another vampire zoom through the house. He quickly grabbed a lone stake that was sitting on the table.

"Who's there?"

Rose carefully came out of the shadows.

"I'm not here to hurt you," she said.

"Why are you here?" Stefan asked.

"Lexi once told me that you're one of the good ones. I'm sorry to hear that she's dead."

"You knew Lexi?"

"Trevor was my best friend," Rose said instead. "For 500 years, I have lived with one person, and now he's gone and I don't want to run anymore, because I don't have anywhere else to run."

"Well, I'm sorry but I can't help you."

"I don't need your help," Rose told him. "But, I think you need mine. Elijah may be dead, but this isn't over."

"What do you mean 'it's not over'?"

"It isn't over," Rose repeated. "The Originals, they'll come for the both of them. They have to. They're doing it for him."

"For who?"

"Klaus."

**xxxx**

"Cute pjs," Damon remarked from his spot on Elowen's bed. She sighed and closed her door.

"I'm tired, Damon. I don't think my mom would appreciate you spending the night."

"I just… I have a question. It won't take long."

"Okaaaay…."

Damon stood up from her bed and came to stand in front of her. "Will you ever love me the way you love Stefan?"

Elowen blinked in surprise. "Where is this coming from?"

"You've been letting him drink your blood on a regular basis and it's just, that's a serious thing in the vampire world, blood-sharing. And I can't help but feel like you'd never do that for me." Damon took a deep breath. This whole serious conversation stuff wasn't his thing. "Just, answer me this: do you love me?"

"Of course I do," Elowen replied immediately.

"Are you _in_ love with me?"

Elowen was left with her mouth open, the answer stuck in her throat. Was she?

Taking her silence as an answer, Damon sighed. The look on his face was absolutely killing Elowen on the inside. He looked so sad, so broken.

"I'll always be second best to him, won't I?"

"Damon, this isn't fair," she said at last. "You're putting me on the spot."

"You shouldn't need to think about it, Wen! It's a quick yes or no answer."

"Are we really gonna argue about this right now?" Elowen glanced at her door worriedly and had dropped her voice when Damon raised his.

"No. I got what I came for."

He turned and headed for the window. Elowen tried to go after him, but he didn't pay her any attention.

"Damon! Damon, look at me! Let me just think about this for a second!"

He stopped, one leg already swung out of the window.

"Goodnight, Elowen."

Hearing him call her her full name and not his nickname for her seemed to make her realize exactly how serious this situation was. Before she could try and stop him, he was gone.

Tears fell from her eyes as everything started to sink in. She heard her bedroom door open and tentative footsteps enter the room.

"Is everything alright?"

It was Esmeralda.

"You feel distressed and upset, so I came to check on you. Did something happen?"

Elowen turned around, face streaked with tears and sobbed.

"I messed up, mom. I messed up."

Still unsure what had happened, Esmeralda opened her arms and wrapped them around her daughter comfortingly and listened as she cried. Elowen still wasn't sure why it was such a big deal; she'd let Damon drink from her before. He never gave her a chance to ask.

Elowen fell asleep in Esmeralda's arms about an hour later.

**xxxx**

Back at the abandoned house, Elijah slowly started to come back to life. The grey veins started to disappear and the color in his face started to return. He pulled the makeshift stake out of his chest, but instead of wanting revenge on the vampire who staked him, he had a different thought on his mind.

_Marisol._


	17. Chapter 17

"Y'know, I've been thinking," Elowen announced as she walked through the front door to the Salvatore boarding house, as she usually did. She passed right by Damon as if nothing had happened last night, but said nothing to him. "I don't think Elijah is dead. Think about it. He's an Original vampire and was killed like that? That makes no sense."

"I staked the guy myself," Damon said tightly. Stefan had entered the room and furrowed his eyebrows at the tension between the two. Did something happen? "There's no way he's not dead."

"If you think he could be killed so easily, you're a fool," Elowen replied with the same amount of animosity to her voice. She lifted her chin and turned to Stefan. "What's so important that's gonna make me late for school?"

"I'm a bit curious myself."

They all turned and found Elena awkwardly standing in the doorway. Her arms were crossed and her bag was hanging off of her shoulder. If Elena were here, too, then it must've been pretty urgent.

Rose stepped out from behind the corner. Elowen and Elena's eyes flickered over to her.

"You," Elena said.

"Alright, this must be about Klaus," Elowen guessed. "You're not still gonna try and sell us off, are you?"

"I see you're still the smart one." Rose half smiled. "I promise that's not my intention anymore. Can we talk?"

They all moved to the living room. Elowen and Damon were on complete opposite sides of the room and didn't offer each other even a glance. Stefan was starting to become beyond confused at this point. He'd try to ask about it later.

"Okay, you have to understand that I only know what I've picked up over the years," Rose started to say. "I don't know what's true and what's not. It's the problem with all this vampire crap, but Klaus, I know he's real."

"He's an Original as well, that much I've gathered," Elowen said. She turned to Elena. "Basically, the oldest vampire in the history of all time is coming after you."

"You, too," Rose added.

"Yeah, you mentioned some kind of 'special relationship'. What's that mean?" Elowen asked.

"Now, I don't know how true this is, but it's said that your bloodline is faithful and loyal to the Original vampires. They've protected you and your family since forever and there's no way Klaus won't want you, too."

"Look, if what she's saying is true…." Damon cut in.

"Which it is," Rose stated as a matter of factly.

"And you're not just saying it so I don't kill you."

"... She's older than you, but okay," Elowen mumbled. Rose smirked while Damon scowled.

"Then we're looking at a solid maybe."

"Look, Elijah's dead, right?" Stefan said. "So, no one else even knows that you two exist."

"I still don't think he's really dead." Elowen crossed her arms.

Stefan loudly cleared his throat. "I've never even met anyone who's laid eyes on him. I mean, you're talking centuries of truth mixed with fiction. We don't know if he's real. For all we know he could just be some kind of stupid bed time story."

"He's not," Elowen said, at the same time Rose spoke.

"He's real and he doesn't give up." She blinked when what Elowen said processed in her head. "Wait, you believe me?"

"Course I do. I know you're right."

Damon groaned. "Well, if she says you're right, then you're right. Damn it, Wen."

Elowen's hopeful eyes finally landed on Damon when he called her Wen. Coming from him, it was much better than Elowen.

"Sorry, I'm confused. What does her saying I'm right have to do with anything?" Rose asked.

"It's her power," Damon explained. "She gets premonitions. Knows when things are right or wrong sometimes. She hasn't been wrong since I've known her."

"Well, whatever the reason, if you're not afraid of Klaus, you're an idiot."

Elena stood up and grabbed her stuff.

"Where are you going?" Stefan questioned. Elowen smirked from behind him with a raised eyebrow. Elena had to look away. They both knew where she was going.

"School," she lied. "I'm late."

Elowen stood up with her bag. "I'll go with her. We'll be fine," she said when Stefan tried to follow them. "It's just school."

"... It's good they do normal stuff," Damon mumbled after they left. Stefan turned, surprised. It wasn't like Damon to say something like that. "Elowen might relapse if she doesn't. She's been through a lot and she's been doing good recently."

The part Damon hated the most was that he wasn't really mad at Elowen to begin with. He'd probably give in and talk to her again sooner than he thought.

For now, however, he was going to put his attention on helping Rose.

**xxxx**

"Tell everyone we both caught a bug and went home from school," Elena told Caroline.

"We can't both be sick. That's too suspicious," Elowen said.

"Then what do you propose?"

"One of us is sick and the other needed a break after this morning's news."

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this," Caroline piped up. "I'm a terrible liar. Besides, are you gonna be okay being alone with your dad?"

Elowen lifted up one of the vampire muzzles they'd found forever ago. "I'm sure. He's a younger vampire and much weaker. He'll be easy to deal with."

"And keep Stefan busy," said Elena. "He'll wonder where Elowen is and come looking. He won't want her here."

"I'm even worse at duplicity and you know this," Caroline whined.

"Caroline." Elowen stopped her trek towards the tomb and turned to Caroline. "As my best friend, can you promise me this? Josiah can help you if you need him to."

Elena had mixed feelings at Elowen calling Caroline her best friend. But…. she was dating her brother. It only made sense.

Caroline sighed. "You had to break out the girlfriend code and bring my boyfriend into this. Fine, I promise. But I won't need his help. Why don't you want Stefan to know? And what about Damon?"

"Stefan won't want me doing this," Elowen explained. "Damon won't either, but he's busy with Rose. Besides… we're sort of on the outs."

"What? Why?" Caroline asked. "I mean, I'm not saying that I'm not secretly happy to hear this, but Damon loves you. He'd do anything for you."

Elowen felt her face drop. He did love her, didn't he? She sighed. "It's a long story that I don't have time to tell."

They reached the church ruins and ventured down the stairs. The three of them stopped in front of the tomb's door. Caroline bit her lip.

"Are you guys absolutely sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," Elena said. "She's the only one who knows the truth about Klaus. The only one who can tell us how to stop him."

"But you're asking for the truth from someone who's probably never going to give it. Are you sure about this?" Caroline asked again.

"We are," Elowen responded. "I'm not going to just sit back and wait. That's not who I am, Caroline. Please."

After a moment of hesitation, Caroline went over to the door and pushed it open.

"Katherine?" Elena called out. She looked to Caroline. "We'll be okay from here."

A noise sounded from inside the tomb. They all turned to the entrance and watched as Katherine dragged herself towards them using the wall.

"Hello, Elena, Elowen. You come to watch me wither away?" Her eyes darted to Caroline. "Goodbye, Caroline."

"As long as we stay on this side of the door, she can't hurt us," Elowen reassured Caroline. "Please."

With one last glance at Katherine, Caroline left. Soon after, another sound came from inside the tomb. Luis came into view, crawling on the ground towards them.

"You bitch," he weakly hissed at Elowen. "Let me out of here."

If they thought Katherine looked bad, Luis looked far worse. His eyes were completely sunken into his face and looked dead to the world. His lips were dry and crusty and the rest of his body was sickly pale and covered in dry patches. It seemed like he was already starting to desiccate. It only made sense that it would affect him faster, being much younger.

A deep glare set onto Elowen face as she cast her signature spell. Luis immediately started to cry out in pain and convulse around in the dirt. She closed her palm and watched as his neck snapped. Elena flinched. Elowen threw the vampire muzzle through the tomb doorway.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll put this on him."

"And why should I listen to you?" Katherine asked. Elowen dipped down and pulled the water bottle filled with blood out of the bag. Katherine zoomed towards the entrance but was stopped by the barrier.

"Because you won't get any of this if you don't."

Katherine was breathing heavily as she stared at the bottle. Slowly, she crouched back down and strapped the muzzle onto Luis.

"We brought you some things," Elena started as Katherine finished up. She let out a wheezy laugh.

"You came to bribe me? What is it that you want?"

"I want you to tell us about Klaus."

"Hmm," Katherine hummed. "You've been busy."

"I also brought you this." Elena took an old book from the bag she'd brought. "It's your family history. It says in here that the family line ended with you. Obviously, that's not true."

"You think that if you brought me some family keepsake that I'd open up?"

Elowen held up the bottle again and shook it. "That's what this is for." She handed the bottle to Elena. "You don't look so good. How long before your body shuts down? 10, 20 years?" She crossed her arms. "It must be painful to desiccate and mummify. I can't even imagine."

Katherine slid down to the door where Elena was. Elena put a small amount of blood into a small plastic cup and pushed it towards Katherine with a stick. She took it and downed the blood in an instant.

"More blood?" Elena asked. Katherine put the cup back on the ground and Elena slid it out with the stick. She refilled it and pushed it back towards Katherine.

"It's a long story, Klaus and I," Katherine started to say. "It goes all the way back to England, 1492, after I left Bulgaria. Or rather, was thrown out."

"Thrown out?"

"My family, your true ancestors, they disowned me. My indiscretions were not tolerated at that time. I had a baby out of wedlock. The shame." Katherine rolled her eyes. Elowen felt a premonition come on once Katherine said this.

_Elowen is standing in a dimly lit room. In front of her is Katherine giving birth with the help of her mother. They were speaking Bulgarian, but for some reason, Elowen could understand them._

"_A little more, dearest," her mother was saying. "A little more. Push, a little more, a little more. Push!"_

_Katherine gives a loud scream and finishes delivering her baby. Her mother takes it in her arms._

"_It's a girl," she announces._

"_A girl," Katherine sighs. "Please mother, let me see her."_

_For a fleeting second, her mother appears to start handing the baby over, but her father steps in. "Don't!" He yells. "What are you doing?"_

"_Let me hold her once," Katherine begged. "Just once."_

"_Forget it!" Her father yelled. "You have disgraced this family."_

_Katherine's mother hands the baby over to her father, who leaves with the baby. Katherine starts to cry._

"_Father, please! No, father, no!" She tries to go after him, but she was still weak from giving birth. Her mother grabs hold of her to stop her._

"_No, Katerina, it's better for her! It's better for her!"_

"_No, mother, please…" Katherine sobs._

"_Let her go. Let her go, Katerina."_

"It was kept secret?" Elowen heard Elena ask as she was brought back.

"Mm-hmm," Katherine hummed. "My baby was given away. I was banished to England and I had to learn to adjust. I quickly became English. It was there that I caught the eye of a nobleman named Klaus. I was taken with him first, until I found out what he was and what he wanted from me. And then I ran like hell."

_Katherine is running through the woods. She trips on her dress and quickly crawls to hide behind a tree. Elijah and a few other men are looking for her._

"_She's here," Elijah told the men. "Katerina!" He called out. "I know you're near, I can smell your blood. It's pointless to run. Klaus will find you wherever you are."_

_Trevor arrives and starts to give wrong directions._

"_This way. There is more blood over there."_

_Everyone leaves. Katherine peered over the tree and starts to stand up. She tries to run in the opposite direction, but Trevor finds her and pressed a finger against her mouth to stop her from screaming._

"_Head east," he told her. "I can't lead them astray anymore."_

"_I can't run anymore," Katherine told him._

"_There's a cottage. You'll be safe there. Go now." Trevor pushed her in the right direction. "Go!"_

Elowen rubbed at her temple. Her body still didn't like it when she had too many premonitions at once. Neither Katherine or Elena noticed that she kept going in and out of the conversation.

"So what did Klaus want?" Elena asked.

"The same thing he'll want from you. He wants to break the curse."

"By sacrificing the Petrova doppelganger," Elowen finished.

"He wanted to drain every single drop of blood from my body."

**xxxx**

"Alright, Rosebud," Damon said as he entered the room. "I need some answers. Oh, please don't tell me you're crying cause your buddy Trevor lost his head."

Rose wiped away her tears. "You always been this sensitive?"

"Most of the time." He paused. "Full vampire switch for this very reason, y'know. Takes the emotion out of it."

"Yeah? You switch yours, I'll switch mine."

"Is that a dig?"

Rose stood up from her spot. "It's an observation. Being in love with your brother's girlfriend who doesn't love you back quite the way you want her to must be difficult."

Damon narrowed his eyes. Was he really that transparent?

"Don't get on my bad side," he scowled.

"Then show me your good side. Or is that reserved for her eyes only?"

"Watch it, Rosie." He decided to change the subject. "How do I find Klaus?"

"You don't find Klaus. He finds you."

"Come on," Damon said. "Somebody's gotta know somebody who knows where he is, right?"

Rose crossed her arms. "Add another two hundred somebodies to that and you're still not even close."

"Humor me. You got in touch with Elijah, how did you do it?"

"Through a very low somebody on the totem pole. A guy named Slater in Richmond."

"Perfect." Damon headed for the door. "I'll drive."

"No." Rose shook her head. "You forget not all of us can do sun."

"Then you drive. Come on."

**xxxx**

"Stefan!"

Caroline was running up to Stefan, who was leaving campus.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey. Uh, I need to talk to you. Where are you going?" She asked.

"Well, Elowen stayed home because I told her something this morning that must've overwhelmed her. I just want to go check up on her."

"Ditch her," Caroline said quickly.

"I'm kind of worried about her. Something happened between her and Damon and I'm not sure what's going on."

"You know what?" Caroline stopped following Stefan. "Of course you are. Go ahead, be the good boyfriend. I'll… we can talk later."

Stefan stopped as well. "Talk about what?"

"... I might've done something," Caroline sheepishly told him.

"What did you do?" He questioned warily.

"Told… Tyler… I'm a vampire."

**xxxx**

"What does the Petrova bloodline have to do with Klaus?"

Elena slid another filled cup of blood to Katherine. She took it, drank its contents and crushed the plastic between her hands. Her face had regained color since they'd started talking. Luis was still unconscious. The lack of blood in his system must've made it take much longer for him to heal. Elowen wasn't complaining.

Yet another memory of Katherine's flashed through Elowen's head.

_Katherine's still running through the woods. She finally comes across the cottage Trevor was talking about and goes to knock on the door._

"_Help! Please, help me."_

_A woman opens the door._

"_Please, help me," Katherine begs. The woman smiles as if she's in a trance._

"_I don't invite strangers into my home."_

"_No, Trevor. He said that you'd help me."_

_Rose overhears this and comes to the door. "Damn him," she grumbles. "Always making promises I don't want to keep. Let the girl in."_

_Katherine enters the cottage and the woman closes the door behind her. Rose goes over to compel the woman._

"_Bring her water and something to eat," she told her. The woman walked off to do exactly that._

"_You must be Rose," Katherine said. "Thank you. Trevor said to show you this." She lifted up the moonstone that was in her hand. "To prove I am who I say and that you'd help me to freedom."_

_Rose's eyes widened. "You stole this from Klaus?"_

"_It was to be part of the sacrifice ritual, so I grabbed it and made my escape."_

_Rose shook her head. "People do not escape from Klaus. Everyone who tries ends up back in his grasp and anyone who helps them dies."_

"_I know the risk you bring on yourself by giving me aid."_

"_I'm risking nothing. At nightfall, I'll bring you back to Klaus and beg him to show us both mercy." She catches Katherine's arm and drags her to an empty room._

"_No!" Katherine shouted. "No!"_

_Rose ignored her cries and closes the door._

**xxxx**

Damon and Rose arrive inside an underground car garage.

"Back entrance," Damon noted. "How convenient."

"That's the point. We can't all have little daylight rings."

They started heading for the door to the coffee shop.

"How do you know this Slater guy is even here?"

"I called him," Rose explained. "He's here. He's always here."

"Good."

Damon used his super speed to push Rose against a nearby wall. "Just one thing. If you're setting me up in any way, I will rip your heart out and shove it down you throat. It's something I'm very good at."

Rose used her own speed to push Damon against the car, holding his arm behind his back. "You should listen to your witch. I'm older than you and stronger. Don't get on my bad side."

She released her hold on him.

"You can trust me."

Rose left and opened the door to the coffee shop.

"Whoa. What about the sunlight?"

Rose gestured to the windows. "Double paned and tempered. UV rays can't penetrate. You see the appeal now?"

A man who must've been Slater joined them. "That and there's free wi-fi."

Rose gives Slater a hug. "Hey, how are you?"

"Good," Slater responded. "I saw you come. What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story," Rose started to say. "But, I want you to meet…"

"Damon Salvatore," Slater finished with wonder and excitement in his voice. "Turned in 1864 by Katherine Pierce aka Katerina Petrova. So I take it I was right, what I told you about the tomb under the church was true?"

"Yes. It was right," Rose confirmed. "Thank you for the tip."

The whole time Damon tried to mask his confusion. How the hell did this guy know who he was? Slater looked to Damon.

"It's nice to meet you, maybe. What's going on, Rose? Where's Trevor?"

**xxxx**

"Rose never ended up taking you back to Klaus, did she?" Elowen asked. She was sitting on the other side of the room, against the wall. It she stayed standing any longer, the lightheadedness from the visions would probably knock her to her feet.

"No, but not because she had a change of heart."

_Rose enters the room in which Katherine is being held. She's laying down on the bed in the room._

"_It's nightfall," Rose announced. "Time to go."_

_She looks down and sees that there's blood coating Katherine's dress. Rose steps forward in surprise._

"_When did this happen?" She asked._

"_In the woods," Katherine said. "I tripped."_

"_That's a lie. I would've smelled it."_

_She finds a knife hiding in Katherine's hand and snatches it away._

"_I'd rather die than go back to Klaus. Please, just let me die."_

"_If you die, then Trevor dies with you." Rose bites into her wrist and forces it to Katherine's mouth. Her stab wound immediately starts to heal. Trevor arrives at that moment. Rose rushes over and pushes Trevor against the wall, leaving Katherine on her own._

"_You have set us both on the path of death," she hissed. "I only hope Klaus sees the honor in returning that girl to him."_

"_He will sacrifice her!" Trevor tried to argue._

"_Then so be it!"_

"_I love her, Rose," Trevor said in a much quieter voice._

"_He'll kill you. He won't stop until he had all of our heads."_

"_Then we shall run until we die."_

_There was a loud crash from inside the room Katherine was in. Trevor and Rose run to see what had happened and find Katherine hanging from the ceiling from a rope. She's dead._

**xxxx**

**Author's Note**: okay honestly this is a really boring chapter :/ it's definitely a filler, and if I remember right, so is the next one. Actually, this entire episode was a filler. As you already know, it gets exciting later on. Enjoy!


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note:** i feel like this was just another filler chapter and nothing super interesting happens. there's a small flashback to elowen's life in atlanta, but it's nothing worth putting a trigger warning on, i think. also, i started a new story! it's a short one and i wrote it because i kind of needed a break from writing this story. it's a stefan/oc pairing about what could've happened if rebekah compelled stefan to forget about elena in season 4. check it out if you want to! anyway, enjoy!

**xxxx**

"You killed yourself?!" Elena asked in disbelief.

"Of course she did," Elowen piped up from her spot on the ground. "Whatever it takes to survive, right?"

Katherine gave a weak smirk. "You'd know about survival, wouldn't you?" Her eyes flashed to Luis. "Want to tell me the story between you two?"

Elowen's lip curled slightly. "No."

Elena found herself a bit curious, too. She had no idea what had gone down, either, and she felt so out of the loop. It felt like everyone else knew but her. All she knew was that the divorce had been messy. She remembered that Caroline had asked if Elowen would be okay with her dad and suddenly wondered what she could've meant.

"Oh, come on, share with the class! I've been spilling everything about me, why don't you take a turn?"

At Elowen's silence, Katherine sighed dramatically.

"Snapping his neck must've felt _really _good, didn't it? I'd recognize that look anywhere. So, tell me, what'd he do that was so terrible that made Damon hate him with a fiery passion? Seriously, seeing him all… angry and fired up was sexy."

Elowen's eyes found Luis and she slowly felt her scowl disappearing.

"_I'm home!"_

_Silence._

"_Mom?"_

_More silence._

_Elowen crept into the house with some hesitation when nobody replied. She'd had a busy that day. School, after school band practice, tutoring and then dance lessons. She was taking beginner contemporary classes and had been for months. Anything to stay away from home._

_It was roughly 8 or 9 and it was odd that she was coming home to an empty house. Where was everyone?_

"_Where the hell have you been?"_

_Elowen jumped at the gruff voice that came from behind her and whirled around to see who it was. Upon seeing it was Luis, she tensed up even more._

"_I- I-" She stuttered. "I was… everything was written on the schedule, remember?"_

"_I thought I told you to come straight home after school," Luis barked. Elowen visibly flinched at the volume of his voice._

"_But mom said-"_

"_I don't care what she said!" He yelled. "I said come home and whatever I say happens!" Luis sighed. "It's bad enough your brat of a brother skipped class and then got in a fight this morning. I don't have time to deal with two shithead kids today."_

"_Where- Where's mom and Josiah?"_

"_I don't know and I don't care," Luis snapped. "Oh, and learn to control your damn dog. He attacked me today." He lifted his hand to reveal a bandage wrapped around it. "I locked him in your room."_

"_... You don't have to treat him that way," Elowen feebly whispered. "He won't be so aggressive with you if you just-"_

"_Excuse me?"_

_Elowen shut up immediately._

"_Don't make me hit you. I'm not in the mood. Now, go to your room and stay there."_

_Elowen nodded quickly and ran up the stairs before anything else could happen. She locked her door behind her as Binx excitedly licked at her hands._

"_Hey, bub," she greeted with a voice crack. Don't cry, she mentally told herself. Don't cry._

"Elowen? Hey, Elowen."

She felt herself pulled out of her thoughts to Elena crouched in front of her with a worried look on her face. Elowen cleared her throat.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

She couldn't bring herself to look at Katherine, who was scrutinizing her with a tilt of her head.

"Klaus needed a human doppelganger," she changed the subject after another moment of observing. Elowen couldn't believe it, but she was grateful for Katherine for doing that. "As a vampire, I was no longer any use to him."

"Except, it didn't work, did it?" Elowen asked. Elena shifted her weight so she could look at Katherine again. "It only stalled the inevitable."

"You've been running from Klaus ever since," Elena finished.

"I underestimated his spirit for vengeance, but living in a suitcase is better than dying so you can have your blood spilled over some silly little rock."

Elena looked uncomfortable. It was obvious. Unsure if it was a good idea (Elena did sort of hate her, after all), Elowen placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Elena didn't shy away, so she guessed that was a good sign.

"What's wrong?" Katherine egged on. "Afraid I'm right? You don't want to die? There's another way out." She cut her wrist with her nail. "Better hurry. Your opportunity is going, going, going and gone." Her wrist healed over. "I made the other choice."

_Katherine wakes up in the cottage._

"_What did you do, Katerina?" Trevor asked in disbelief. "I would have helped you live."_

"_You would have helped me run," she corrected. "That was never going to be enough."_

"_It was enough for me," Trevor said quietly._

"_Do you not see, Trevor?" Rose asked. "She used you to help her escape and me to turn her. Klaus will see our role in this."_

"_And for that I am sorry," Katherine apologized, but she obviously wasn't sorry._

"_As am I. For this."_

_Rose rushed over to Katherine with a stake at the ready, but Katherine made a grab for the woman who owned the house and pulled her in the way. Rose stabs the woman instead. Katherine drinks her blood and completes the transition._

"_You have just signed our death sentence," Rose said with wide eyes._

"_Better you die than I." Katherine throws the now dead woman into Trevor's arms and flees the scene using her newfound speed._

"Rose and Trevor spent the last 500 years running because you used them," Elena scoffed with a shake of her head. "Trevor just died."

Katherine shrugged. "I never thought he would last that long."

"You don't even care that you ruined their lives."

"Because she was looking out for nobody but herself, Elena," Elowen stated. "It's all she'll ever do."

"And you would know all about looking out for yourself, wouldn't you, Elowen?" Katherine was still fishing around for answers about Luis. "We've got more in common than you think."

"No, we don't. I look out for family." Elowen sat up straighter to try and make herself seem braver. Katherine saw right through it. Her eyes flickered to Elena instead.

"If you're smart, you'll do the same."

**xxxx**

"Sorry to drag you here, but if I don't eat, I get those kill innocent people urges. Tyler totally has those, too, by the way."

Caroline had all but forced Stefan to come to The Grill with her. He was currently sitting across from her while she ate.

"About that. What else did you say to him?"

"Not much. I was trying to keep the questions to a minimum. Are you mad?" Caroline asked with a small voice.

"Yes, Caroline." Stefan nodded. "As a matter of fact, I am a little mad. I mean, you put yourself at risk. If Damon finds out…"

"But you're not gonna tell him, are you?" Caroline asked quickly. Now that she knew Elowen and Damon were broken up (sort of), she was afraid of what he would do. Elowen was the only person who knew how to keep him at bay, and even then he was still impulsive.

"No, of course not. He would kill you, and without Elowen in the picture…"

"There would be nobody to stop him. Yeah, got it. Always looking out for me," Caroline said with a smile.

"Yeah, well, you don't exactly make it very easy on me."

"Then why do you do it?" Caroline asked genuinely. "Why are you such a good friend to me?"

"I don't know." Stefan shrugged. "I guess you… you remind me of someone. My best friend, Lexi."

"You have a friend?"

Stefan laughed. "You say that with such a discouraging amount of surprise, Caroline."

"No! I just- Sorry. Tell me about her."

"I will, some other time." Stefan made a move to stand up from his seat. "I gotta go."

"Wait!" Caroline panicked. Elena and Elowen weren't done yet. "What do we do about Tyler? I don't want Damon to kill him, cause there's a full moon coming up and Tyler is totally freaking out about it. Toby's trying to help, but there's only so much he can do."

On the other side of The Grill, Bonnie passed by a table where Luka and his father were seated.

"Hey, Bonnie," Luka got her attention. Bonnie smiled politely and stopped at their table.

"Hey, Luka. How was your first day?" She asked.

"It was great," he replied. He gestured to the man sitting across from him. "I would like to introduce you to my dad."

"Hi, I'm Bonnie Bennett."

"Doctor Martin, Jonas Martin. It's nice to meet you, Bonnie Bennett. Would you like to join us?"

"Oh, I'm meeting a friend, but…" Bonnie looked around The Grill. "He's not here yet, so, sure." She took a seat next to Luka and set her stuff down. "So, where did you move from?"

"Louisiana," Jonas replied.

"That's a big change."

"I'll say," Luka took over.

"It's not so bad here."

Luka gave Bonnie a lopsided smile. "It's looking up."

"Bennett, huh?" Bonnie redirected her attention to Jonas. "I knew some Bennett's when I did my residency in Massachusetts. Do you have any family in Salem?"

Bonnie's face slowly dropped. She squirmed in her seat uncomfortably. "Actually, I do."

"What do you know?" Jonas laughed. "Small world, right?"

Bonnie saw Jeremy enter through the door and used this as an excuse to quickly stand from her seat. "Oh, there's my friend." She smiled nervously. "It was nice to meet you, Doctor Martin."

"I'll see you at school," Luka said as a goodbye.

"Yeah." She purposefully patted Luka on the shoulder and immediately sensed that he was a witch, too. She walked away after grabbing her things to meet up with Jeremy.

"Sorry I was late," he apologized. "Are you okay?" He questioned upon seeing Bonnie's face. She nodded.

"Yeah."

**xxxx**

"And you're sure Elijah's dead?" Slater asked. Him, Rose and Damon were now sitting at a table.

"Beyond dead," Damon replied. "Although, my girlfri- _friend_ seems to think otherwise."

Rose noticed this slip up and stared at him. Damon side eyed her but didn't say anything.

"Trevor was a good man," Slater said. "He helped me with my dissertation on sexual deviance in the Baroque period. I was schooling for my Psych PhD."

Rose leaned over to Damon. "Slater's been in college since '74."

"I have 18 degrees, 3 master's and 4 PhDs," he listed off.

"The point?" Damon questioned with his eyebrows raised.

"Exactly," Slater agreed. "I mean, what is the point? What should I be doing with my eternity?" He asked rhetorically. "If you have an answer, please, enlighten me."

Rose shook her head and changed the subject. "We need your help. If someone wanted to get in touch with Klaus, how would you hook him up?"

"Craigslist," Slater replied simply.

"Really?" Damon questioned incredulously.

"Seriously." Slater nodded. "I respond to a personal ad to get somebody who knows somebody who knows Elijah, who's dead, and that's where my connection ends."

Outside, Elijah had managed to track Damon and Rose down. He tossed a 100 dollar bill into a guitar suitcase of a man who was playing and then took a handful of his coins. He moved the coins from hand to hand as he watched Damon, Rose and Slater from his spot.

**xxxx**

Stefan and Caroline were still talking at The Grill.

"Okay, now I'm leaving."

"Wait-!" Caroline rushed in a hurry before Stefan could stand up.

"No, no, no, Caroline. You have two seconds to come clean."

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked innocently.

"I'd believe the whole innocent act a little better if I didn't know how good you are at providing a distraction on demand. Where is Elowen?"

Caroline looked down at the table. "I can't tell you," she said quietly.

Stefan's eyebrows shot up. "You can't tell me? Are you kidding me?"

"I'm sorry, but I.. I can't tell you," she repeated.

"Caroline! Elowen was kidnapped, and so was Elena! She could have been killed and you're seriously not gonna tell me where she is?"

"She's not in any danger," Caroline said quickly. "I would not have let her put herself in danger."

"Put herself in danger?" Stefan furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you…? She can't be with Damon, and he'd never let her do anything dangerous without him, let alone at all. Elijah is dead and Katherine is…" He trailed off as it started to dawn on him. "Katherine? Is she with Katherine?"

"I cannot confirm nor deny this."

"You mean you left her alone with Luis?" Stefan raised his voice slightly with wide eyes.

"I never said she was with Katherine _or_ Luis," Caroline reminded. "I said I couldn't confirm nor deny it."

"Then where is she? Listen, if you're my friend like you've been pretending all day, then you'll tell me where she is."

"Stefan, I am your friend, but I'm also Elowen's friend and I'm sorry, but I'm not going to tell you where she is."

Stefan stared at her for awhile before leaving.

**xxxx**

"So, how much of your little story is true?" Elena asked Katherine. She had left Elowen alone a few minutes ago and was sitting in front of the entrance again. Luis still hadn't moved an inch.

"She has no reason to lie, Elena," Elowen spoke up. "Besides, every time she adds more to the story, the more premonitions I get, which is killing my head, by the way. Anyway, if she were lying, that wouldn't be happening."

"The witch is right. I have no reason to do anything but sit here and read and rot."

"Okay, assuming that it's even partially true, that's the reason you came back, isn't it?" Elena guessed. "Because you wanted to be the one to hand me over to Klaus."

"500 years on the run, I figured maybe he'd be willing to strike up a deal."

Elowen stood up from her spot on the ground and crossed her arms. "So you got Mason Lockwood to find you the moonstone. Makes sense. Only a Lockwood would be able to get their hands on it. And you need a witch, or else you would've killed me a long time ago. I know you want me dead." She walked closer to Katherine, who smirked.

"Who said that?" She mocked. "You're smart. You always have been," Katherine said with a wrinkle of her nose.

"What else do you need, then?" Elowen asked. "You wouldn't have triggered Tyler Lockwood's werewolf curse for nothing." She paused and narrowed her eyes. "Were you responsible for triggering Toby's curse, too?"

Katherine scoffed. "No. I wasn't even aware the little brat was already a wolf until after Mason became one. Had I known, Mason wouldn't have been in the picture."

"Toby doesn't trust you. There's no way he would've done your dirty work."

"Hmm," Katherine hummed. "You might be right, witch."

"What else do you need?" Elena cut in. "You have your wolves. You have your witch. What else?"

"For the record, the only reason I picked Elowen over the Bennett witch is because-"

"My bloodline has a connection to the Originals," Elowen cut off. "Yeah, I know already. What else?"

"A vampire."

"Caroline," Elena realized.

"I could have been anyone, I suppose, but I like the poetry of Caroline."

"There was no way you'd hand Stefan over to Klaus, and Damon, well, he's still just a plaything to you, isn't he?" Elowen was now standing over Katherine, who looked up at her with her sunken eyes. "He hates you, y'know."

Katherine's lip curled ever so slightly. "He's downgraded, is what he did. Although, truth be told, you aren't a terrible choice. We could've been best friends in another timeline."

"So you were, what? Just gonna hand us all over to be killed?" Elena questioned from her spot on the ground.

"Better you die than I."

**xxxx**

"Here's what I don't understand," Damon was saying to Slater and Rose. "Elijah moved around during the day, which means the Originals knew the secret of the day ring. Why would Klaus want to lift the curse of the sun and the moon?"

"To keep the werewolves from lifting it," Slater replied. "If a vampire breaks the sun curse then the werewolves are stuck with the curse of the moon forever and vice versa."

"But werewolves are extinct," Rose stated as if it were obvious.

"True," Slater agreed. "I've never seen one, but rumor has it…"

"Not much of a rumor," Damon told them.

"Mystic Falls?" Slater's eyes were wide with what was probably excitement. "God, I've got to visit this place. It sounds awesome."

"Awesome doesn't even begin to describe it," Damon sarcastically drawled. "Can we stop the curse from being broken at all?"

"What do you mean?" Slater asked.

"Well, if we make the moonstone useless, would it stop the curse from being broken?"

"Well, yeah, probably, but why would you want to do that?"

"Tell me how," Damon demanded.

"You think I'm gonna help you figure out how to do something that will piss off an Original?" Slater questioned incredulously. "And keep them from walking in the sun?"

"You want to walk in the sun? I can make that happen if you help us."

Outside, Elijah was still listening in on their conversation. Finally having heard enough, Elijah flicked the coins that were in his hands at the windows and caused them all the shatter. Immediately, Slater and Rose's skin started to burn. Slater had booked it while Rose was screaming in pain. Damon looked outside to see if he could find out who the culprit was, but Elijah was long gone already.

Acting quickly, Damon took off his jacket and covered Rose, then rushed her out of the cafe and back into the parking garage. The other customers were all heading the same way. Damon reached their car and set Rose in the backseat.

"You're gonna be okay," he told her.

"I know," she replied.

"Who was behind that?" He asked.

"I don't know." Rose shook her head. "Where's Slater?"

"Iowa by now. Who the hell knows?"

"He's not behind this," Rose said in his defense. "He's a good guy, he wouldn't betray me."

"Then who did it?"

"It's Klaus, don't you understand?" Rose sobbed hysterically. "You don't know this man. We're dead, we're all dead."

**xxxx**

It was apparent that Katherine was done answering questions, because she never came back out of the tomb. Luis was finally starting to stir and Elowen didn't want to be around when he woke up. As Elena and Elowen were gathering their things, Stefan came rushing down the stairs.

"Elowen," he breathed in relief when he saw her. He glanced at Elena and nodded in her direction in acknowledgment. She nodded back.

"It took you long enough," Elowen said. "For a second, I thought I'd gotten away with it."

"Did Caroline tell you?" Elena asked. Stefan shook his head.

"No, she kept your secret, but it wasn't that hard to figure out where you were. Process of elimination. Look, whatever she told you, it was a lie. Don't listen to her. She's a liar."

Luis groaned from his spot on the ground and Elowen felt her heartbeat spike.

"Okay, you're angry, got it. Can we get out of here now?"

Stefan glanced down and understood. He gently grabbed onto her shoulder and started leading her towards the stairs. Elena followed.

"There's nothing you can do, Stefan."

The three of them turned back towards Katherine, who had her foot holding Luis down by the neck. He was too weak to fight back and laid on the ground, save for the occasional grunt.

"I haven't even told you the best part of the story."

_Katherine arrives back to her home on horseback. She sees multiple dead bodies outside of the house and scrambles off of the horse. She runs inside and finds her mother and father both dead. Katherine drops to her knees beside her mom and cries over her body._

"_No, no, no! Mama, no!"_

"He killed them, my entire family, just to get back at me for running. Whatever you do to escape Klaus, he will get vengeance on your friends, your family and anyone that you've ever loved."

Stefan immediately tried to get Elowen's attention. "No, look at me. Do not listen to her, okay?"

"Always the protector, but even you must realize that they're both doomed. Elena will be killed and Elowen will be taken away forever, and there's nothing you can do about it. Unless, of course, you have this."

Katherine held up the moonstone that she must've fetched when she went back into the tomb.

Realization dawned on Stefan. "Oh, no, there it is. It's the ultimate lie, isn't it? You spun this whole thing so that we would have to get the stone from you, didn't you?"

Katherine shrugged. "I didn't spin anything, Stefan. It's the truth."

"She's right, Stefan," Elowen muttered. "She isn't lying."

"Listen to your little witch girlfriend, Stefan. She's warming up to me, y'know."

Stefan looked down at Elowen with a clenched jaw. At times like these, her power got on his nerves. "No, let me guess. You want to trade that stone for your freedom, you manipulative, psychotic bitch."

"My freedom?" Katherine laughed. "That's where you're wrong, Stefan. I don't want my freedom, because when Klaus shows up to kill us all, and he will, I will be in this tomb, where no vampire will enter because they can't get out. I'll be the safest psychotic bitch in town."

Katherine looked from Stefan to Elowen and then to Elena, before retreating back into the tomb. Luis coughed when she finally let her grip go on his throat.

The three of them were left standing there, looking at each other.

**xxxx**

Stefan and Elowen were now standing on Elowen's porch. They'd dropped Elena off at home a little while ago.

"Elowen." Stefan took hold of her hands. Elowen pulled them away from his grip.

"There's nothing to talk about, Stefan."

"Yes, there is. Don't shut me out, Elowen. Please."

"You want me to talk?" She asked rhetorically. "Fine, I'll talk. My family is connected to the oldest vampire in the history of vampires and he wants _me_, for whatever twisted reason, and there's nothing I can do about it. Stefan, I recognized Elijah," she confessed. She hadn't told Stefan what she'd felt that day. "I don't know how or why, but I _know_ him, and I have no idea what that means. And that scares me."

Stefan let out a deep sigh and wrapped his arms around Elowen. She returned the hug gratefully and sighed as well. They stood there in silence for a moment before Stefan pulled back.

"This is probably a bad time to ask, but… what happened between you and Damon?"

Elowen sighed again and went to sit on the bench that was on the porch. Stefan followed and took a seat next to her.

"He asked me if I loved him," she started to say. "I hesitated. He took it as a no and now he won't even look my way."

"... Do you?" Stefan asked. Elowen furrowed her eyebrows and glanced over at him.

"Do I what?"

"Love him," he answered. "Do you love him?"

Secretly, Stefan was hoping she'd say no. It was selfish of him, he knew that, but even though they'd come to an agreement, he hated sharing her.

Elowen was quiet for a moment. "Honestly, I really don't know," she said at last. "I was so certain about it when it was you. I knew I loved you before I even realized it. But with Damon? I care about him as more than friend, that I know. But…"

"You don't love him," Stefan finished.

"No," Elowen agreed. "Not yet, at least, or maybe just not at all. It's too confusing."

Stefan wrapped his arm around Elowen's shoulders. "You'll figure it out. I know you will."

"I hope so."

**xxxx**

Elowen had just taken her shirt off when her phone buzzed. She picked it up and felt her heart jump when she saw Damon's name.

_I'm outside._

As quickly as she could, she changed into her pajamas and rushed downstairs. When she made it to the bottom, she stopped and remembered that Esmeralda and Josiah had already gone to bed, which meant she had to be quiet.

Creeping the rest of the way towards the door, Elowen carefully slid past the threshold and closed the front door behind her with a soft click. When she turned around, she was surprised to see a brand new SUV parked in the driveway. Damon was sitting against the hood. Carefully, she approached him.

"What is this?" She asked when she reached him.

"A new car," he stated as if it were obvious. She furrowed her eyebrows.

"I see that, but, why?"

Damon shrugged. "You needed a new one."

"... You're mad at me, so you bought me a car?"

She was confused. This wasn't making any sense. Damon pushed himself off of the car and came to stand directly in front of her. He sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm not mad at you," he said softly.

"But-"

"I'm. Not. Mad. At. You," he stressed. "I was hurt, but I was never angry."

"Who are you and what have you done with Damon Salvatore?"

Damon blinked. "Huh?"

"The real Damon Salvatore doesn't open up and talk about his emotions, let alone process them. He goes on impulsive binges, displays reckless behavior and acts like he doesn't care. So, who are you?"

"I slept with Rose," he blurted. Elowen leaned back. "I wanted to mask the hurt so bad. I wanted to be numb, even if it was short lived, so I slept with her. How's that for reckless?"

Elowen swallowed. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I know how big you are on honesty," Damon told her truthfully. "And I don't want to lie to you."

There was a lapse of silence. Elowen felt herself building up her courage and finally had the guts to open her mouth.

"Why is it such a big deal that Stefan's been drinking my blood?" She asked. "I've let you drink from me before."

Damon sighed deeply. He wet his lips before answering. "It's different because of the circumstances. I drank from you before we were involved and it was never intimate. It was always, 'Here, you're hurt, take a sip'. But with Stefan…. It's personal. Does that make sense?"

Slowly, Elowen nodded her head. "I think I get it. I also think I owe you a proper answer."

Damon wasn't sure he wanted to hear it. But he knew he needed to. He mentally prepared himself as Elowen chewed on her bottom lip.

"I'm not in love with you," she said at last. Damon did his best to mask his emotions, but Elowen knew how he was feeling. "But, I want to be. It's just not fair to you to stick around and wait, so I'll understand if you want to stop seeing each other."

Damon was quiet for a moment. Thinking that maybe he was done with her, Elowen turned around and started heading for the front door.

"I would wait a millennium if it meant that even for a second you could love me back."

Elowen stopped. She turned back around and slowly walked back over to him. Little by little, she lifted her wrist up to Damon's mouth. He looked down at her as if asking for permission. Elowen nodded her head without hesitation. Tentatively, Damon took hold of her arm, let his fangs extend, and, as carefully as he could, sank them into her wrist.

Elowen winced in pain and her face contorted in one of discomfort. Except, a second later, she suddenly understood what Damon had meant by it being personal. She could feel the intimacy of the situation and how tender he was being as he drank from her. Damon pulled back and for a long moment, they just stared at each other. Then, both of them crashed forward in a heated kiss.

Their teeth clicked together loudly and Elowen could taste her blood on his lips, but she didn't care. Using his speed, Damon gently spun her around and pushed her on top of the hood of the car. He settled in between her legs as he pushed his tongue in her mouth. Elowen moaned as she felt his hands slide under her shirt and grip her hips tightly.

Damon moved from her mouth and started kissing down her face, towards her neck. He sucked on a sweet spot just behind her ear and garnered another moan from her. Elowen grabbed a fistful of his hair and pushed him farther onto her neck.

"Do it," she said breathlessly. "Bite me."

Damon allowed his fangs to come out again and this time bit her neck, just above her collarbone. Elowen's mouth opened in both pain and pleasure. Damon dragged his tongue from the bite mark all the way back up to her mouth and kissed her harshly.

"I want you so bad," he mumbled against her lips.

"I want you, too," she whispered back.

"Ever had car sex?"

Elowen pulled back completely to stare at him. It didn't seem like he was messing with her, and he probably wasn't, but she was still slightly shocked.

"You're serious?"

Damon smirked. "'Course I am."

Elowen laughed and shrieked when Damon grabbed onto her thighs and lifted her up. He moved a few steps sideways and opened the back door of the car.

"I can't believe I'm gonna let you do this." She shook her head as Damon placed her in the backseat.

Damon wiggled his eyebrows. "I can." He crawled into the back with her, closed the door with his foot and immediately started to pry her shirt off and over her head.

"If we get blood all over my new car, I'm going to kill you."

"Sure you will."

The last sound before Damon kissed her again was her laughing.


	19. Chapter 19

Elowen groaned as the first rays of light hit her directly in the face. The sun was just starting to come up and it couldn't have been later than 6 in the morning. She squinted and put her hand in the way as she tried to sit up. Instead, she winced. Not only were the bites on her wrist and neck still there, she had two new ones on her hip and inner thigh. Damon turned out to have a biting kink, apparently.

Speaking of Damon, his arm was draped around her waist, preventing her from sitting up too far (she was just leaning on her elbow). His eyes were closed, but he was definitely awake.

"Morning," he said gruffly upon feeling her move. His eyes opened and he bent over her to kiss her neck. His tongue darted out to lick where the bite was above her collarbone. She'd stopped bleeding hours ago, but there was still dried blood surrounding the opening, which was enough for him to taste her.

Elowen sighed contently as he started to kiss around the bite and up to the sweet spot that had been just behind her ear. It sent shivers down her spine when he reached it. His mouth hovered over her ear.

"Want to go again?" He asked in a whisper. It would've been so easy. She was in nothing but his shirt and he had only his boxers on. Slowly, his hand trailed from her waist down to between her legs. Elowen gasped as his cold hands touched her.

"Shhh," Damon shushed. His other hand started to lift his shirt off of her so he could kiss down the rest of her body. In the next couple of seconds, he reached the bite on her hip and dragged his tongue from it to the one on her thigh. His mouth replaced his fingers and Elowen found herself breathing hard and fast.

She'd never had car sex before last night, let alone morning sex, but she guessed there was a first time for everything.

**xxxx**

They were back to their original positions, with Damon's arm around her waist and Elowen resting on her elbow. His shirt was back on her and his boxers were also back on. She sighed, pried Damon's arm from her and started to sit up. She found her underwear discarded in the very back of the car and slipped them on.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked as he watched her pull his shirt off again and replace it with her own.

"Getting dressed," Elowen answered as if it were obvious. Damon sat up as well.

"Why? We're comfortable enough."

She scoffed in an endearing manner. "Damon, I can't stay half naked in a car all day."

"Says who?"

"Says me."

She threw his shirt at his face and grabbed her basketball shorts from the front seat. Damon grumbled, but put his shirt on and looked for his pants. They were thrown over the passenger's seat. Once they were both dressed, Elowen held her hand out expectantly. Damon simply looked at it.

"What?"

"Your hand. I'm not walking around covered in vampire bites."

A smirk crept onto Damon's face and Elowen really didn't like how he was looking at her.

"Sorry, little witch, but I've decided that I'm not feeding you any blood."

Elowen eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I want everyone to know that I marked you." His smirk widened. "_Especially _Stefan. Tell me, who's better in bed? I'm curious."

Elowen got uncomfortable. She squirmed under his gaze. "I don't know. Stefan and I haven't had sex yet."

Damon's eyes lit up. "Really?" He drawled. "Interesting."

"Oh, shut up."

Elowen opened the backdoor and crawled out of the car, clearly done with his antics. Damon quickly followed her and closed the door.

"Wait, wait. I wasn't your first, was I?"

"Of course not. Toby and I-"

"Okay that's it, I don't want to hear anymore."

Elowen rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'd ask you to jump me to my window to save me the embarrassment of sneaking through the house, but I know you'd enjoy that way too much to actually help me."

Damon smiled smugly. "You'd be correct."

"Ass."

"You know you love me."

"No, I don't, remember?"

"Ouch."

Elowen smiled triumphantly. Damon pouted and tried to lean in for a kiss, but she pushed him away before he could reach her.

"You're not gonna help me, so you don't deserve a kiss. Goodbye, Damon."

She turned before he could say anything else and left. Once she reached the door, she prayed that it was still unlocked. It wasn't. Cursing, she turned back around and started to venture around the house to the fence. Damon was already gone, and she knew he wasn't going to help anyway, which thoroughly pissed her off, so it was pointless to look for him. Unfortunately for her, she was barefoot. In her rush to get outside last night, she forgot to put on slippers like an idiot.

Elowen reached the fence and jumped to grab the top of it. Her fingers slipped the first time (why couldn't they have a chain link fence instead of wood? This would be so much easier that way), but on the second attempt, she was able to get a good grip on it. Using her feet to push herself up, she was able to reach the top. She swung her legs over and dropped down to the ground on the other side.

Quickly, she scurried to the backdoor and hoped to god that it was unlocked. Thankfully, it was. As quietly and as carefully as she could, she crept into the house and gently closed the door behind her. Tiptoeing her way through the sitting room (that nobody ever used), she made her way towards the stairs when she thought the coast was clear. Except, it wasn't.

"Aah!"

"Whoa!"

Elowen came face to face with a shirtless Alaric. He immediately awkwardly cleared his throat and did his best to hide his embarrassment. He wasn't doing a very good job. It was then that she noticed he was in nothing but his boxers.

"Elowen. Ahem." He lowered the bowl in his hands to try and cover himself, but it only made the situation worse.

"I don't think that's gonna help," she commented.

"What is going on in here- Elowen." Esmeralda stopped dead upon seeing her daughter. She was wearing Alaric's shirt. Just Alaric's shirt. She laughed nervously. "What are you doing awake? It's 6:30 in the morning."

"I could ask you the same thing."

"We didn't think anyone else was up," Alaric said. "But here we are."

"We were just- Um.." Esmeralda tried to explain, but neither her nor Alaric could come up with a good explanation. Alaric cleared his throat again and held out the bowl he was holding.

"Chunky monkey?" He offered weakly. Elowen shrugged and took the bowl from him. She wasn't going to deny ice cream. He sighed in relief that she didn't make it more weird than it already was.

"Hold on. What's this?" Esmeralda asked as Elowen handed the bowl back to Alaric. She grabbed hold of Elowen's wrist, who panicked when she realized what was happening, and quickly yanked her wrist back.

"Nothing! It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"That was not nothing." Esmeralda saw part of the bite on her neck peeking from under her shirt and pulled it down to fully reveal it. "What the hell is this?"

Sensing the situation about to escalate, Alaric pointed upstairs.

"I'm naked, so I'm gonna go."

"What's all the noise?"

"Shit," Alaric cursed under his breath. Before he could even make a run for it, Josiah came out of his room and was rubbing his eyes from the top of the stairs. He let out a loud yawn before he noticed Alaric was in his boxers and his mom was in nothing but his shirt. Immediately, he ceased all movement.

"Uhhh…. Want to explain what's happening here?" Josiah held his index finger up. "Wait. I'm not sure I want to know."

Esmeralda crossed her arms. "Your sister was just about to tell me why she's covered in bite marks. So?"

It was hard not to feel awkward or embarrassed. She could feel it radiating off of everyone and as an empath, you tend to mimick the emotions.

"Mom, trust me, you don't wanna know."

Alaric tried to defuse the scene in front of him. "Maybe she's right. She's 17, it's her business. Right?" At Esmeralda's glare, he took a step back. "Not right."

She continued to stare at Elowen expectantly. "Well?"

Elowen closed her eyes and sighed. This was starting to get on her nerves. She was sure her mom could feel it, but she didn't care. Opening her eyes, she decided to rip the bandaid off. Screw embarrassment.

"Damon likes to, you know... _bite_."

"Oh, gross!" Josiah covered his ears. He seemed to be the only one who understood what she meant. Esmeralda furrowed her eyebrows and looked from Josiah to Elowen, then back again.

"I'm not following. He's never done this to you before."

It took a few more seconds to staring before it clicked in Alaric's head. He opened his mouth wide and grabbed onto Esmeralda's arm.

"Okay! I think Elowen's right, you don't want to know. Let's go."

"No, I do want to know!" Esmeralda struggled against his grip. "She's not a human blood bag!"

"He wasn't using me as a human blood bag!" Elowen yelled in frustration. "He was biting me because we were having sex! Do I really have to spell it out for you?"

Esmeralda paused. Then, she latched onto the next subject.

"You were having sex under my roof?"

"For the record, it wasn't in the house, but you're one to talk."

Alaric suddenly became hyper aware that he was in his boxers. Esmeralda opened and closed her mouth like a fish. Elowen crossed her arms.

"By the way, why are you allowed to have boys over but I'm not?"

Josiah had come down a few steps and pointed an accusatory finger as Esmeralda. "Yeah! You freaked out on me when you caught Caroline in my room last week. What's up with that?"

"I'm an adult and you two aren't!" Esmeralda tried to salvage the situation. "That's not the point! Did you at least use protection?"

"Mom, they're vampires," Elowen deadpanned. "They're dead, they can't procreate."

"Thank you!" Josiah exclaimed. Esmeralda turned her attention onto him instead.

"Are you saying that you and Caroline are having sex, too?"

"Hmm? Uhh." Josiah pointed towards his room. "I think I hear my phone going off. Bye!" He darted back upstairs at a speed Elowen had never seen him go. He was gone the next second. She turned back to Esmeralda.

"And what have we learned here? All three of us are sexually active. Whoop de doo. Can I go now?"

Without waiting for an answer, Elowen headed upstairs, leaving Esmeralda and Alaric alone. An awkward silence settled over them.

"The ice cream's melted." Alaric lifted the bowl. "I'm gonna go get more."

He headed back into the kitchen. Esmeralda stood there on her own, dumbfounded.

Some morning.

**xxxx**

"Do you think our girlfriend would be happy knowing we went to see our ex?"

"_Our_ girlfriend?" Stefan asked. "Did you and Elowen make up?"

"Yep." Damon smirked. "Twice."

Stefan stopped his trek towards the tomb and made a face. "Y'know, hearing that my brother slept with my girlfriend would usually get you punched in the face."

"Oh, I know." They continued their walk. "By the way, heard you two haven't," Damon whistled, "yet. What's with that?"

"There hasn't been an appropriate time," Stefan replied. "Considering my evil brother came to town, kidnapped her, somehow convinced her to help him, then somebody died, she was depressed and still is but she's hiding it and my personal favorite, our crazy ex girlfriend decided to show her face after 145 years. Did I miss anything?"

"The fact that some super old vampire wants to kill Elena and take Elowen for himself."

"Which is why we're doing this."

Stefan and Damon descended the stairs to the tomb and took hold of the stone door.

"1, 2, 3," Damon counted off. They both pulled the door open and waited for Katherine to emerge, if she would at all.

**xxxx**

Elowen opened the front door to reveal Stefan and Damon. She narrowed her eyes at Damon in a glare.

"I don't want to see you."

Damon jutted his bottom lip out. "But we had so much fun last night."

"That was before you left me covered in bites and refused to heal me."

Damon's faux pout turned into a smirk. "How'd that work out for you?"

Elowen crossed her arms. "Let's see. I had to jump over the fence and come in through the back because somebody locked the front door, I found out that my mom and Ric are sleeping together a few doors down from me and Caroline and Josiah have apparently also done the deed, all because my mom saw the bites. Show and tell was great, thanks for asking."

"Well, you obviously weren't stealthy enough."

"Y'know what? It would've worked if my mom and Ric weren't running around half naked in the kitchen."

"Look, I'm sorry."

"No you're not."

"Sorry, bites?" Stefan asked. "As in, plural?"

"Oh, yeah," Elowen answered sarcastically. "Your brother has a biting fetish. See?" She lifted the sleeve of her shirt to show the bite on her wrist, pulled the top of her shirt down to show the one on her neck, then lifted the bottom to show the one on her hip. "I've also got one on my thigh. My pants are rubbing up against it and it hurts like a bitch."

Stefan sighed, cast a side glance at Damon, then bit into the palm of his hand. "Here."

"Thank you."

Damon whined as Elowen took hold of his hand and drank. "Oh, no fair!"

Elowen smirked as she thought of a form of payback. Pulling Stefan forward, she kissed him long and hard. Her tongue slipped into his mouth and they made out in front of Damon for a few moments. Damon watched on with a face of annoyance. When she pulled back, she leaned her forehead against Stefan's.

"I love you _so much_."

"Oh, come on, that's a low blow!" Damon complained.

"So was leaving me out to dry."

"Okay, alright." Stefan tried to change the subject. "That's not why we're here. We went to see Katherine. We called Elena over, too. She needs to hear this."

**xxxx**

Katherine slowly dragged herself towards the entrance, using the wall to help keep her upright. She looked worse for wear, with heavy bags under her eyes, and her entire appearance was disheveled.

"Please, come on it," she wheezed. "There's plenty of room for all of us."

"I'd rather poke my eyes out," Damon quipped. "Where's Luis?"

"Unconscious," Katherine replied. "He's practically dead."

"Good."

"We're here for the moonstone." Stefan got to the point. If he didn't butt in, these two would go at it all day.

"Feel like tossing it over?" Damon asked.

"Tell you what," Katherine started. "You get your little witch girlfriend to hocus pocus me out of here, you can have whatever you want."

Stefan crossed his arms. "I thought you liked it in here. Nice and safe where Klaus can't get to you."

"I've had time to reconsider."

"Meaning you're hungry," Damon said.

"I'm starving, Damon," Katherine deadpanned. "And dirty. But above all, I'm bored. The only person I have to keep me company is out for the count and he was a little too power hungry for me anyway." She limped closer to the entrance, stumbling her way forward. "At least running from Klaus wasn't boring. So, here's the deal: you get me out of here, you get the moonstone and I'll disappear from Mystic Falls forever."

Stefan and Damon looked at each other as Katherine started to walk away.

"Let me know what you decide."

**xxxx**

"You don't believe her, do you?" Elena asked. She'd shown up a few minutes ago and now the four of them were gathered in the kitchen. Josiah was at Caroline's and Esmeralda and gone somewhere with Alaric about an hour ago.

"No, of course not," Damon replied. "We just want the moonstone."

"According to Rose's friend Slater, there's a way to destroy the spell that Klaus wants to break," Stefan explained.

"No spell, no doppelganger sacrifice," Damon said. "Ergo, you live."

"You don't care whether I die or don't die, you just don't want Elowen to be taken away," Elena snarked. "How do you even know it's her he wants? He could easily take Josiah or Esmeralda."

"Elena, that's not true," Elowen said softly. "Your life is more important than mine."

"_Both_ of your lives are important," Stefan stressed. He didn't like how Elowen worded that. "Which is why we have to at least try this."

"How do you even destroy it?" Elena questioned.

"You release the spell from the moonstone," Stefan told her.

"How do you guys even know this is gonna work?"

"Because we have more than one crafty witch on our side," Damon cut in.

"You discussed it with Bonnie," Elena guessed.

"We discussed it with all of them and they all agreed to do anything they could to help," Stefan responded.

"It's Katherine who has the moonstone," Elena pointed out. "She's not going to give it to you."

"We're gonna get it from her," Stefan reassured.

"Well, what he means is, we will pry it from her cold, dead hands if we have to," Damon commented with a sarcastic smile.

Elowen had been leaning against the island in the kitchen the whole time and finally decided to say something. "We just need to find a way to release the seal long enough for them to get in, get the moonstone and get out. It shouldn't be too hard to find an alternative."

"Wow," Elena breathed. "It sounds like you guys already have it all planned out. Except for one thing. I don't want you to do it."

Elowen, Stefan and Damon all exchanged looks.

"Elena, we have no other option," Elowen stated. "It's either this or dying."

"What about Klaus?" Elena questioned.

"We'll deal with him after we get the moonstone. One step at a time."

"Is that before or after he kills everyone I care about?"

"If the stone is rendered useless, he can't do the spell." Elowen sighed. "Elena, he doesn't even know you exist. If we can just take care of this stupid rock and keep you a secret, Klaus won't even look our way. This can save your life."

"I know," Elena said shortly. "I have to go." She abruptly stood from her spot at the island and grabbed her things. Before anyone could say anything, she had already left.

Elowen, Stefan and Damon shared another look after she was gone. To say they were confused was an understatement.

Thankfully, Elowen knew where she was going.

**xxxx**

Elowen pulled up to the boarding house just after Elena did.

"Why are you following me?" Elena snapped. "I don't need your help."

Elowen put her hands up in surrender. "I'm not here to help. I'm just trying to understand why you don't want us to go through with the plan."

"That's none of your business."

Nonetheless, Elowen still followed Elena into the boarding house. Rose was just coming down the stairs, tying a silk robe around her waist.

"It's not nice to leave a girl naked in the middle of the night." She looked up, saw it wasn't Damon and froze. "Whoa. Sorry, I thought you were…" She trailed off and felt her face warm up at the sight of Elowen. Rose knew she was just a temporary replacement, but she wasn't expecting Elowen to find out.

"It's fine," Elowen assured. "He told me you guys slept together." She shrugged. "Right before we spent the night with each other."

Elena looked uncomfortable, but Rose slowly nodded her head.

"Noted. He sure moves on fast. Anyway, there's nobody else here. It's just me."

"Actually, I came here to talk to you," Elena said. She just wanted the topic to change before she died of embarrassment.

"Then I should probably get dressed."

After Rose put her clothes back on, her, Elena and Elowen sat in the parlor. Rose was shaking her head.

"It's a bad idea."

"No, it's not," Elena defended. "From what Stefan told me, your friend Slater obviously has more information about Klaus. You and Damon just gave up before you got it."

"Because somebody tried to kill them, Elena," Elowen reminded. "They had no choice."

"Your friend is right-"

"I've told you before, she's not my friend."

"Well, she must care about you, because she's here, isn't she?"

Elena cast a quick glance at Elowen, but decided to change the subject. "There's more to learn. We just have to find a way to learn it."

"And you're coming to me with this, why?"

"Because you owe me. One word from me, and Damon and Stefan could have killed you for kidnapping me."

Elowen couldn't help but laugh. "You really think you have that much power over those two?"

Elena glared at her. Rose stepped in before something nasty happened.

"Or maybe it's because you know that they wouldn't want you doing this, and their moonstone caper gives you a chance to sneak away."

Elena's glare didn't go away. "We're having a disagreement, okay? They're willing to risk everyone that I love and I'm not."

Elowen rolled her eyes. "No, everyone you love that's involved are there willingly. Stefan and Damon didn't do anything. At least be grateful that you have people ready to help you no matter what the consequences are. Including me, despite the fact that you hate me. It's the right thing to do. What part of that is so difficult to understand?"

Rose nodded her head in Elowen's direction. "She's right, y'know. They're all just trying to protect you."

"You always complain about not needing protection." Elena turned to Elowen. "Why am I any different? Because I'm a useless human?"

"I've had to protect myself my whole life," Elowen replied. "We lead very different lives, Elena. You had everything handed to you on a silver platter. I had to fight for what I have. If I don't protect myself and my family, who else will?" She sighed. "But even I have to admit that sometimes you need help, even if it's hard to accept. Trust me, I would know."

Elena faltered. She still didn't know what had happened between her and Luis, but she gathered it wasn't good. As much as she'd like to know, she doubted Elowen trusted her enough to disclose that information. After all, they didn't like each other.

"Look, Rose has proven that she couldn't care less whether I'm protected or not. So, please, let me do this. I'll let you help."

A mutual understanding seemed to pass through them. Finally, Elowen nodded.

"Okay. I'll help you."

Rose came over and sat on the couch next to Elena. "What exactly do you hope to achieve by this? And how are you so sure I'll assist you in this?"

"I'll make you a daylight ring," Elowen offered. "In exchange for taking us to Slater, I'll give you the ability to walk in the sun."

Rose contemplated this for a moment. In the end, she nodded. "Alright. I'll take you. Let's go."

**xxxx**

Caroline approached Tyler just as Matt walked off. Josiah was trailing behind her. She insisted on trying to help Tyler, despite Josiah attempting to tell her that Toby had the situation under control. Typical Caroline, but he loved her for it.

"Hey," she greeted. "You realize there's almost a full moon, right?"

"Vampires and witches don't have enough problems, so you want to take on mine?"

Caroline didn't realize Tyler knew about Josiah, so she stopped for a second. Giving Josiah a questioning glance, he shrugged. Turning back to Tyler, she continued on.

"Have you even thought about it? The whole… wolf thing? Do you know what you're gonna do?"

"Toby's helping me with it." Josiah sent Caroline a look that said, 'I told you so'. "He has a plan."

Caroline crossed her arms. "Well?"

"Uhh, it's kind of private."

"I'm student council vice president, head of the prom committee, not to mention I single handedly organized this town's clean up campaign and you're really gonna turn down my help?"

"Caroline," Josiah called out softly. "I'm telling you, Toby's got this."

At her sharp look, he shut up.

**xxxx**

"I might be able to lower the tomb spell long enough for you to get in there and grab the moonstone from Katherine," Bonnie was saying. Her, Esmeralda, Jeremy, Stefan and Damon were back at the boarding house. Alaric had to go to work at the school, so he couldn't be there, and Josiah was still with Caroline and Tyler. Nobody was sure where Elowen was, but they figured she was watching over Elena somewhere.

"How?" Jeremy asked. "It took you, your Grams, Esmeralda and Elowen last time, and it cost your Grams her life."

"I'm well aware of what happened," Bonnie acknowledged. "I've learned a few new things."

"Honey, that doesn't mean you can do this spell on your own," Esmeralda told her. "That's why _all_ of us are helping."

"Bonnie, maybe you should listen to her…" Jeremy tried to say, but Bonnie deflected his concern and turned to Stefan.

"How will you get it?"

"She hasn't been feeding," Stefan replied. "She's weaker. We're not."

"You wouldn't be underestimating her, would you?"

"It's a plan. Is it perfect?" Damon scoffed. "What plan is?"

"Let me do it," Jeremy said quickly. "I've got my ring. I can get in, get out, no spells necessary."

"Gee, thanks, you 16 year old child," Damon sarcastically quipped. "Why didn't we think of that? Why are you even here?"

"We can just give her an aneurysm," Esmeralda suggested. "Incapacitate her long enough for Jeremy to get in and get out. It's the easiest solution."

"But what about Luis?" Bonnie asked.

"Katherine made it sound like he's desiccated beyond repair," Stefan told them. He slowly started to nod his head. "This might work."

"Oh, come on! We're really gonna let the little kid help?" Damon asked.

"'The kid' is the best chance we've got," Esmeralda pointed out. "He has a ring that won't let him die, is human so he won't get trapped and is willing to do this. Just let him try. If it doesn't work, we'll do something else."

"Maybe I can better the plan," Bonnie offered. "Do you have anything that belongs to Katherine?"

**xxxx**

Rose, Elena and Elowen arrived at Slater's apartment. They climbed the stairs to his door and Elena and Elowen stood by while Rose knocked.

"Slater?" She called. "Slater! It's Rose, open up!"

Nothing happened.

"He's not home. Sorry."

"He's dead."

Rose stopped and looked at Elowen with wide eyes. "Excuse me?"

"He's dead," she repeated.

"Is this some kind of joke? Because it's not funny."

"She knows stuff," Elena explained. "It's sort of her power, remember? We told you at the boarding house."

"And you're sure he's dead?"

Elowen nodded. "I'm sure."

Rose bit her bottom lip and turned back towards the door. Grabbing onto the handle, she pushed the doors open with her super strength and wandered into the apartment. Elena and Elowen in walked in after her.

"Slater?" Rose called out. She was hoping that maybe Elowen was wrong. She made her way to the back of the apartment and her face fell when she found Slater's body. "You were right. I don't think he's gonna be much help."

Elowen and Elena rushed over and saw Slater with a stake in his heart. Rose sighed and started to drag him away. Regaining her composure, Elena walked over to Slater's computer desk and started shuffling through the papers.

"Looks like whoever blew up the coffee shop found him and killed him for his information," Elowen said as she came up behind Elena. She also started to sift through the papers.

"Yeah, probably to stop him from helping people like us," Rose noted. "The guy was a vampire almanac. Knowing too much information just bit him in the ass." She walked over to the window while Elowen and Elena were busy and started to open the curtains.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked quickly.

"Tempered glass," Rose replied. "UV rays can't penetrate." She sighed and looked out the window. "I used to just come here and watch the day."

"I'm sorry about Slater," Elena told Rose softly.

"Any luck?" Rose questioned instead. She turned from the window to her. Elena set down a picture of Slater and a girl that she'd picked up and approached the multiple computers instead.

"It's password protected," Elowen stated. "We can't get in."

"You can you can't hocus pocus the password out of thin air?" Rose asked. Elowen shook her head.

"It doesn't work like that, unfortunately."

Suddenly, the three of them heard a noise from inside the apartment.

"Stay here," Rose ordered as she went to investigate. She walked past Elowen and Elena and opened another set of doors. Hiding behind a chest of drawers was a girl.

"Alice?"

"Rose!" Alice cried. She rushed from her hiding spot into Rose's arms, crying heavily. "He's dead!"

**xxxx**

"This belonged to Katherine," Stefan said as he reentered the room. He was holding the picture of Katherine from before. "Found it with her things after I thought she was dead, but it was hers."

Stefan held out the photo and Bonnie took it. She placed it in a ceramic bowl, dipped her fingers in some water and sprinkled it onto the picture. Flames immediately flared up from the bowl. Bonnie shut her eyes and started to chant a spell in Latin.

"What will this do?" Damon asked.

"It's a spell that'll help put her down," Esmeralda explained, having recognized what Bonnie was doing. "The metal will turn to ash and if you blow the ashes on her, it'll knock her out for a few minutes. I don't see why we need this if we just use the aneurysm spell."

"It'll be a backup plan," Bonnie said. "In case the first one doesn't work." Her nose suddenly started to bleed and she quickly wiped it away before anyone noticed, but Esmeralda saw. She shot Bonnie a look, who ignored it.

**xxxx**

Toby, Josiah, Tyler and Caroline were walking through the woods. Caroline wouldn't give up and Josiah had given up a long time ago. He used this as an opportunity to walk to the tomb while they ventured farther away. He was able to slip away undetected.

"Matt's bumming pretty hard," Tyler started to say.

"I know," Caroline replied. "But, it's better this way."

"I get it."

"You do?"

"Yeah. You can't be honest with him."

Caroline stopped, which made Tyler stop, which meant that Toby had to stop, too.

"It's not fair to be with someone, friends or romantically, if you can't let them know who you really are. You got lucky with Josiah."

Caroline smiled slightly. "Yeah, I did."

Tyler started to walk away. "Right over here. There's a cellar that goes to our old property."

"I know," Caroline said before she could stop herself.

"You do?" Tyler asked confusedly.

"I know that this is the old Lockwood property," she quickly lied to save herself. Tyler looked at her skeptically, but lead her down to the cellar anyway. Caroline and Toby followed. Tyler turned on the flashlight he'd been holding so they could see.

"This is where Mason and I were supposed to be the last full moon," Toby explained. "But _somebody_, I won't name names, decided to bring Aimee Bradley down here to makeout."

Tyler sheepishly rubbed at the back of his neck. "Sorry about that. Had I known, I wouldn't have done it."

Toby rolled his eyes and continued farther into the cellar. Caroline cautiously followed behind him. Toby had a second flashlight and shined it around the room. He stopped the light on a pair of three, deep scratches etched into the walls.

"Whoa," Caroline gasped. "They look old."

"Mason and I were pretty sure that's what this cellar had been built for in the first place," Toby told her. "The bolts looked like they could still hold, but we'll definitely need new chains."

"And you're sure we won't attack each other during the turn?" Tyler questioned. Toby nodded.

"We lose some inhibitions as wolves, like knowing who our friends are and who our enemies are, but we can recognize family. It's why we listened to you that night when you yelled at us."

Caroline had been looking around the room while they talked. She noticed something stashed into the wall and went to pry it out of its hiding spot. At that moment, Tyler seemed to notice Josiah was missing.

"Hey, where'd your boyfriend go?"

"Huh? Um, he had other things to attend to. What's this?"

She unwrapped the item from the cloth that was around it to reveal a diary. Toby smiled wistfully when he saw it.

"Dad's journal. He kept one to write about his experiences as a wolf. Wrote it in after every full moon. I didn't realize he left it in here."

Tyler took it from Caroline and started to flip through the pages. He stopped on one and started to read aloud.

"August 31st: My body is changing. I'm edgy, angry, impatient. I get so mad, I black out and forget what I say or do. I'm not myself, not since Jimmy's death. Toby told me I triggered my werewolf gene and that I'm like him now. What's happening to me?"

Tyler furrowed his eyebrows and turned to Toby.

"So, he knew about you?"

"It wasn't like I could keep it a secret. What was I supposed to do, disappear every full moon and expect him to not think anything of it?"

Tyler continued to flip through the pages. He landed on one that contained a memory stick and slid it out of its place. Toby grimaced when he saw it.

"Dad's first turn. I don't think you're gonna wanna watch that."

"No, I think I need to," Tyler replied. He looked from the thumb drive to Toby. "It's all I've got."

**xxxx**

"I saw that."

Jeremy whirled around and came face to face with Esmeralda. She had her hands on her hips and her mom face on. Bonnie had scraped the ashes together and left the room to get a container for them. Jeremy must've thought he was alone, because he just used his ID card to carefully push some into his wallet.

"I- I was just- This isn't what it-"

"Looks like? Yeah, I think it is." Esmeralda crossed her arms, then sighed. "Look, it'll be fine. Josiah just texted me and said he's there already. Come on, let's go." She lowered her voice when Jeremy got closer. "I don't like their version of the plan, either. Maybe we could beat them there and do it my way. Bonnie can't handle this."

"I know. That's why I did what I did." Jeremy looked around for Bonnie to make sure she wasn't coming back. "Let's get out of here."

**xxxx**

Rose was rubbing her hand in circles on Alice's back comfortingly. She was still crying and trying to regain her composure. Rose stood up and walked into another room where Elena and Elowen were each pouring hot water into teacups. They thought that maybe it would make Alice feel better.

"She found him a few minutes before we did," Rose informed them.

"How is she?" Elena asked.

"Overreacting. Big time."

Elena gaped at Rose. "Her boyfriend just died. There's no such thing as overreacting."

"She only wanted to be turned, didn't she?" Elowen phrased it as a question, but it was more of a statement than anything else.

Rose turned to Elowen. "Has anyone ever told you your power is annoying?"

Elowen smiled mockingly. "All the time."

Elena shook her head, took hold of one of the teacups and brought it over to Alice.

"Thank you." Alice accepted the tea and took a sip. Elena sat next to her. Alice stared at Elena for a minute and tilted her head. "You look really familiar. Did you know Slater?"

"Not personally, no," Elena replied. "I just knew that he kept detailed records of all of his vampire contacts and I was hoping that he could point me towards Klaus."

Alice snorted. "Doubtful. Klaus doesn't want to be pointed at."

Elena shifted in her seat awkwardly. "Do you know Slater's computer password?"

"Are you seriously asking me that right now? I just saw my boyfriend with a stake through his heart."

"I understand that. Do you know his password?" Elena repeated.

"Who do you think you are?"

Alice turned away from Elena and took another sip of her tea. Elena sighed. Her eyes found Rose and they lit up as an idea struck her.

"What if I could convince Rose to turn you?"

Rose, hearing this, looked at Elena in disbelief. Elowen furrowed her eyebrows.

"What? She asked in a whisper. "What is it?"

"She just told Alice that I would turn her."

Elowen wore the same expression as Rose as she turned to look at Elena. It seemed to work, though, because the next minute, Alice was sitting in front of Slater's computers. She'd just logged on before discovering all of the files had been deleted.

"Someone's been here," she told them. "The hard drive's completely wiped out."

"Yeah, probably whoever killed him," Rose said.

"Lucky for you, Slater was paranoid. Everything's backed up on a remote server."

While Alice was pulling up stuff on the screen, Rose turned to Elena.

"You know she's not going anywhere near my blood, right?" She stated in a quiet voice so Alice wouldn't overhear.

Elena nodded. "I know. She doesn't."

Both Elowen and Rose smirked at hearing about Elena's deception. Elena walked back over to Alice and leaned over her to look at the computer screen.

"These are all leads to vampires?" Elena questioned. Alice nodded.

"Slater was obsessed. Almost as much as me."

"What about that one?" Rose pointed to a name. "Cody Webber. They exchanged dozens of emails about Elijah."

"I could call him," Alice offered. Elena took the phone and handed it to her.

"Tell him that we're trying to send a message to Klaus. The doppelganger is alive and she's ready to surrender."


	20. Chapter 20

"What?!"

"Oh my god, I knew I recognized you!"

Came Rose and Alice's reactions, respectively. Elowen was only staring at her, utterly floored at what was happening.

"Get him the message, please."

Elena quickly left the room, flanked by Elowen and Rose.

"Did you not hear what I said this morning?" Elowen hissed. "Klaus doesn't know you're here and if he doesn't know about you, you're safe! Nobody gets hurt!"

"If Klaus knows you're alive, he'll find you and kill you," Rose agreed. Elena looked away from them both and didn't respond. Realization dawned on Rose. "Which is exactly what you wanted all along."

"It's either me or my family," Elena said stubbornly.

"Okay, let me get this straight," Elowen started to say with clenched teeth. "You were really on some suicide mission this whole time, despite having so many people willing to try and save you? And despite the fact that so many people care about you and will miss you more than anything? You're ready to just let yourself die even though you'll hurt everyone in the process?"

"Why do _you_ care?" Elena asked scornfully. "You hate me."

"I don't hate you, Elena. It's you who hates me, remember?" Elowen sighed. "I told you, it's the right thing to do."

"And what about you? Your family is in danger, too. According to Katherine and Rose, Klaus will take you with him. Or Esmeralda, or Josiah, and you're just gonna let that happen?"

"Do I look like I have a choice? Your problem can be solved. You can live. Mine? What do you expect us to do? Run and hide for the rest of our lives like everyone else has done? It's not like my life matters anyway."

"Hey," Rose interjected. "Of course your life matters. Don't talk like that."

Elena furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. What did Elowen mean by that? Before she could work up the courage to ask, Alice entered the room that they'd retreated to.

"Cody is on his way and he _really_ wants to meet you."

Rose closed her eyes and sighed while Elowen scoffed and shook her head.

Was this seriously happening right now?

**xxxx**

Jeremy and Esmeralda met up with Josiah, who was standing at the top of the stairs that led into the tomb. He'd beat them there by a few minutes. It took him awhile to realize where he was after ditching Caroline, Toby and Tyler and almost got lost, but he made it.

"Hey," Jeremy greeted upon seeing him. Josiah look at Esmeralda confusedly.

"Where's everyone else? I thought Bonnie was supposed to help."

Esmeralda shook her head. "Not anymore. She managed to convince Stefan to change the plan and still try to take the seal down. Long story short, I like my version better."

"And Jeremy is here because...?"

"I can get in and out without anyone getting trapped," Jeremy answered. "You and your mom will do that headache thing and while Katherine and your dad are down, I'll grab the stone."

"Please don't call him that," Josiah said quickly. "He doesn't deserve that title. Let's just do this."

The three of them ventured down into the tomb. Katherine was at the entrance waiting for them when they arrived.

"Hmm, the youngest Gilbert, youngest Ramirez and mama bear. This is an intriguing surprise."

"We're just here for the moonstone," Josiah said. "Feel like handing it over?"

"That's a very popular topic today," Katherine noted instead of answering the question. Jeremy sighed.

"Just give it to us and nobody will get hurt."

"Naive little Gilbert. If you want it, you're gonna have to come in here and get it."

Josiah shrugged. "Okay."

Grabbing onto Esmeralda's hand, her and Josiah closed their eyes and started the spell. Katherine, weaker than usual, clutched her head and collapsed to the ground. She yelled in pain as Jeremy stepped over her and pat down her clothes in search for the stone. He grunted in disapproval when he couldn't find it.

"It's not on her," he told Josiah and Esmeralda. "I have to go inside."

"Be quick," Josiah said before resuming the spell. Jeremy ventured farther into the tomb and almost immediately came across Luis. The muzzle that Elowen had made Katherine put on him was still securely around his face and he looked dead. He must've still had some kind of strength, though, because he was trying to drag himself towards Jeremy, no matter how slow. Jeremy ignored him and quickly found the stone sitting on a stone ledge behind an iron gate. He grabbed it and turned around, only to trip over Luis, who had managed to catch up to him.

"Ah!" Jeremy yelped as he went down. Moving faster than he should've been able to, Luis took hold of Jeremy's ankle and pulled him towards himself with whatever might he still had. Struggling against his hold, Jeremy tried kicking Luis, but failed as he started to remove the muzzle. Panicking, Jeremy used his other leg and successfully knocked Luis off of him. If Jeremy had just moved a little faster, he might've stood a chance.

Luis growled and, with a newfound strength fueled by hunger, caught hold of Jeremy's pant leg and brought him down again. Extending his fangs, Luis bit into Jeremy's ankle, who screamed.

"Jeremy?!" Josiah shouted in worry. He let go of Esmeralda's hand and ran into the crypt. Esmeralda tried to hold him back, but he wiggled himself free and jumped over Katherine's body in order to reach his friend. He found him and pulled him away from Luis, then pushed him in the direction of the entrance. Josiah turned away to leave, but Luis, who regained his composure, vamp sped to his feet, pushed Josiah against the wall and sank his fangs into his neck.

"Josiah?!" Esmeralda cried when he didn't come out after Jeremy. She looked down at Katherine, then Jeremy. "The powder! Quickly!"

Jeremy dropped the moonstone to the ground and hastily grabbed his wallet.

"Hurry!"

He threw the powder on Katherine, who stopped thrashing, which allowed Esmeralda to run inside to get Josiah. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of Josiah on the ground, unconscious. She crouched down, grabbed his shoulders and started to drag him towards the entrance. She made it halfway before Luis dropped down on her from his hiding spot.

"Not this time, you little bitch."

He grabbed a fistful of her hair, pulled her head back and roughly bit into her neck.

"No!" Jeremy yelled when he saw this. Not thinking about Katherine, he dashed into the tomb, wielding the stake gun he'd brought with, and shot a stake into Luis's back. Luis snarled, ripped the stake out and turned on Jeremy. When his eyes flickered to something over his shoulder, Jeremy felt himself fill up with anxiety. Slowly, a smirk appeared on his face.

"Game over," came Katherine's voice from behind Jeremy. She sped over, exposed his neck and bit him.

Outside, Bonnie caught up with Stefan and Damon, who were waiting by the church ruins.

"Sorry I'm late, Bonnie apologized. "I had to grab the grimoire from home."

Before much could be said, both Stefan and Damon directed their attention to the stairs.

"Do you smell that?" Damon asked. Stefan nodded.

"Yeah."

"What?" Bonnie questioned. "Smell what?"

"Blood," Stefan said before rushing down the stairs. Damon started to follow him when his phone rang.

"Not a good time, Elowen," he answered with a hurried tone.

"You have to get to Richmond immediately."

Damon glanced at the stairs to the tomb and knitted his eyebrows together.

"What? Why? And what are you doing in Richmond?"

"I'll explain when you get here, but you need to get here _now_. I'll text you the address."

She hung up before he could ask anything else. Shooting one last look at the stairs, Damon left.

Down in the tomb, just before Stefan and Bonnie showed up, Esmeralda used the last of her energy to cast the spell again. Luis went down instantly while it took Katherine a few minutes.

"Go," she weakly told Jeremy. "Take Josiah and get out of here. Go!"

Acting as quickly as he could, Jeremy hooked his hands under Josiah's arms and dragged him outside of the tomb. Once they were safe, Esmeralda dropped the spell and went limp. It was then that Stefan and Bonnie came barreling down the steps.

"Oh my god!" Bonnie exclaimed at the sight of Josiah and Jeremy, who was slapping Josiah's cheek.

"Wake up! Come on, Jo, wake up!" He frantically kept saying. Bonnie dropped down beside him helplessly. Stefan ran over to the entrance where he could see Esmeralda laying on the ground. She was still awake, but just barely.

"Their plan almost worked, y'know," Katherine said as she approached Stefan. "They did their little witchy spell, had me on the ground and everything. They just underestimated what a hungry, desiccated, supposedly too weak vampire could do." She side eyed Luis, who was on the ground, hovering over Esmeralda. His mouth was dripping with blood.

"Now, she's not wearing that nifty little ring Jeremy's got, so if she dies, she dies." Katherine shrugged. "I don't think I can keep him as bay, so if you want her alive, you'll bring the seal down. Give me a holler when you've done it."

**xxxx**

Various trinkets belonging to both Elowen and Elena were spread out on a table in Jonas and Luka's apartment. Jonas was sitting on one side of the table while Elijah sat on the other.

"What's so special about the second girl?" Jonas asked as he picked up a knife. "Is she the doppelganger's sister?"

"It's…. Complicated," Elijah answered. "And none of your concern. How exactly does this spell work?"

Deciding to leave it alone, Jonas lifted the knife. "Give me your hand."

Elijah extended his hand, palm facing up, and allowed Jonas the slice it open with his knife.

"Place it here," Jonas instructed. Elijah placed his now bloody hand face down on the picture of Elena in her cheer uniform. "Now, take my hand." Elijah gave Jonas his other hand. "Close your eyes. Relax your mind, and look for her."

Elijah closed his eyes. Jonas followed suit and started to chant a spell in Latin.

At Slater's apartment, Elena was gazing out of a window. Suddenly, she saw Elijah's reflection in the window coming up behind her. She gasped and spun around, but there was nobody there.

Elijah's eyes flew open. Jonas nodded in acknowledgement.

"You saw her, didn't you?"

"I know exactly where she is," Elijah said. "Now, the other girl."

They repeated the process, except this time they were using a picture of Elowen from when she used to take dance lessons in middle school. Elijah found himself back at Slater's apartment. Elowen was sitting in front of the computers, looking through all of Slater's contacts and the various emails he'd exchanged with people. Elijah's face appeared on one of the screens. She didn't have time to feel scared as a premonition came forward.

"_So you're just raising her like a pig for slaughter?!" A man Elowen didn't recognize was saying._

"_Kol, calm down," came Elijah's cool voice. "We have an arrangement with Marisol and her mother."_

"_Yes, an arrangement where she will die," Kol barked. "Does she even know?"_

_Elijah nodded once. "She is aware of the circumstances. She has been since she was born. She embraces it."_

"_Because you've brainwashed her to believe that's what her sole purpose is."_

_There was a small pause._

"_Do you perhaps have feelings for her?"_

_Kol didn't answer._

"_What's going on here?"_

_Elijah and Kol turned at the new voice. Another man Elowen didn't know entered the room._

"_Nothing," Elijah answered. "Kol was just leaving."_

_Kol glared at both Elijah and the third man before taking his leave._

Elowen blinked as she was brought back to the present. Who was Kol? She found herself with so many more questions, including who the third man had been. Had it been Klaus?

Back at Jonas's place, Elijah jumped back and opened his eyes. He had seen the premonition. He remembered that day all too well. Jonas tilted his head.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Elijah said quickly. "She's with the doppelganger. I shall take my leave now."

**xxxx**

"Where the hell is Damon?" Stefan asked when he realized he was gone. Jeremy was still frantically trying to get Josiah to wake up while Bonnie set up a circle of torches.

"We can't wait," Bonnie replied. "We have to get her out of there."

"Both of them have fed," Stefan pointed out. "They have their strength back."

"We still have what's left of the ash." Bonnie handed over the envelope that contained the ash. Stefan took it, but shook his head.

"This will only work on Katherine. What about Luis?"

"We have no other option, Stefan. We've got to try. It's gonna take me some time to get it down."

"How long?"

Bonnie shrugged. "I don't know, awhile."

"Just get me in there as soon as you can."

Bonnie opened her grimoire and shut her eyes. She was tightly clutching Luka's dog tags that he had forgotten to take with him from earlier. She decided that she was going to channel him just like he'd shown her at school today. Josiah was out for the count, so he was no help, and for obvious reasons Esmeralda couldn't do anything, so she had no choice.

Somewhere behind her, she registered Stefan feeding Josiah some of his blood when Jeremy continued to freak out. She ignored it.

**xxxx**

"Want to tell me what's on the drive?" Tyler questioned as him, Toby and Caroline returned to the Lockwood manor.

"Mason's first transformation," Toby replied. "He wanted to dock everything that happened. It's why he had the journal." He sat next to Tyler, who was inserting the thumb drive into his laptop. "I really, _really_ don't think you should watch this."

"No, I _need_ to watch this. I need to know what to expect."

Toby sighed but nodded. Tyler played the video. Mason appeared on the screen, followed by Toby, who was setting things up in the background.

"It's September 15th, 2 hours before the first full moon since I triggered the curse."

Tyler paused the video and looked to Caroline, who was flipping through Mason's journal. Toby shook his head.

"You won't find anything from this night. Look for the next day."

Caroline stopped flipping when she found the page and leaned over to Tyler so he could see the page.

"He's right. Look here. September 16th."

Tyler started to fast forward through the video while Caroline read out loud.

"'I chose the garage. It's what Toby has been using since he came to live with me, so I know it can hold at least one of us. It's far from the street so nobody can hear. Toby installed bolts to the floor the first chance he got, but it's only enough for him, so I secured hooks for the carabiners.'" Caroline paused. "Like for mountain climbing?"

"Retractable cables," Toby explained as Tyler continued speeding through the video. He stopped to a part where both Toby and Mason were drinking some kind of golden liquid from two separate water bottles. Toby immediately made a face of discomfort.

"Wolfsbane," he said. "It's like the werewolf version of vervain."

Caroline sifted through the pages once again to find an entry on it. "'I diluted wolfsbane with water. Toby said it'll help weaken me, but he warned that it wouldn't be pleasant. He was right. It felt like I was drinking battery acid. I could barely get it down without puking. Over an hour passed and nothing happened. It got so quiet I could hear my own blood pumping. That's when…'" Caroline trailed off.

In the video, Mason began to scream in pain. Toby, on the other hand, was only drenched in sweat. Caroline put her hand to her mouth in shock, but continued reading while Tyler and Toby watched the video play out.

"'I kept thinking I'd black out and not feel it. But I did. I felt it all.'"

Back to the video, Mason had fallen to the floor due to the excruciating pain he was in. In the background, Toby started to yell alongside his dad. The turn was going faster for him, as this wasn't his first time, and almost immediately his left arm and leg started to break and take shape of a wolf. Tyler jumped slightly at the sight of this.

"How long is it?" Caroline asked softly.

"We're three hours in," Tyler replied with a shaky voice. He started to fast forward the video once again. "Four hours. Five hours. How long does this last?"

"The first turn is always the worst. It lasts the longest. See?" Toby pointed to the screen. A little past the three hour mark, Toby had already fully transformed. By hours four and five, he was just wandering around the room, nudging Mason every now and then and occasionally ramming the dead bolted door. "By hour seven, four hours later, I'm already back to normal."

"And Mason?" Tyler dared to ask. His eyes had started to fill up with tears. When Toby simply looked at him and stayed quiet, he sobbed. He had paused the video awhile ago and stood up from his seat. "I can't- I can't do that. Whatever that was, I can't go through that."

**xxxx**

Elowen had just come from the kitchen, a glass of water in her hands, when she turned around and just about jumped out of her skin. It was a miracle she hadn't dropped her drink.

Damon had snuck up behind her and was now standing in front of her.

"Care to explain why you're here now?"

Before Elowen could open her mouth, Elena entered the room to see what the problem was. Her eyes flared with anger when she saw Damon.

"You called Damon? I thought you understood!"

Elowen rounded on Elena. "Why in the world would you think that? I've been pretty vocal about being against this the whole time we've been here!"

Elena crossed her arms. "I thought that maybe, since your family is in danger, too, that you would get why I'm doing this."

"Well, you thought wrong."

"Okay, sorry," Damon interrupted. "What's going on here?"

"She's trying to get herself killed," Rose explained as she stepped into the room. Alice had followed Rose and gasped when she saw Damon.

"Damon Salvatore!" She breathed with excitement. Damon looked at her with mild confusion and nodded at Rose.

"Get rid of her."

Rose grabbed onto Alice's arm and lead her out of the room.

"Come on, we're leaving." Damon took hold of Elowen's hand and waited for Elena to move.

"No," Elena said defiantly.

"I said, we're leaving," Damon repeated.

Elena crossed her arms. "I'm not going with you."

"You do not get to make decisions anymore."

"When have I ever made a decision? You, Stefan and everyone else has done that for me. Now this, this is my decision."

"Who's gonna save your life while you're out making decisions?"

"You're not listening to me, Damon," Elena bit. "I don't want to be saved. Not if it means that Klaus is gonna kill every single person that I love."

"Get your ass out the door before I throw you over my shoulder and carry you out myself," Damon threatened. He used his other hand to roughly grab onto Elena's arm. She struggled against his grip and managed to slip it out of his grasp.

"No!" Elena drew her hand back and attempted to punch Damon, but he grabbed her hand in midair and leaned towards her. She gasped in surprise and tried to step away from him.

"Don't ever do that again."

Elena glanced at Elowen with her mouth wide open. "Are you just gonna stand there and let him talk to me like this?"

"There's a reason I called him and not Stefan."

Horrified, Elena looked at both Damon and Elowen with wide eyes. The two of them caught a glimpse of each other and decided to walk away.

**xxxx**

"Ooh, something's happening."

Katherine came back to the entrance of the tomb, followed by Luis, who was dragging Esmeralda behind him.

"Bonnie, no!" Jeremy exclaimed. Josiah, while healed now, was still unconscious. His head was laying in Jeremy's lap. He looked at Stefan. "You have to stop her, she's not strong enough! We could wait until Josiah's all better and try again when Elowen's here!"

"Hmm," Katherine hummed. "I don't think so."

"Bonnie…" Stefan mumbled. Her nose was bleeding profusely but she continued to chant the spell. "Bonnie," he tried again. She still ignored him. "Jeremy's right. You can't do this on your own."

"You gotta stop her!" Jeremy cried. "She's not listening!"

"You need to stop," Stefan tried again. "Bonnie!"

Bonnie continued to ignore both Stefan and Jeremy. Suddenly, she fainted and crashed onto the ground. Stefan was immediately by her side, trying to shake her awake, while Jeremy watched on worriedly.

"Bonnie. Bonnie, wake up. Please, Bonnie, wake up. Bonnie."

"Yes, please, because we're still in here!" Katherine threw her hands up impatiently while Luis paced around behind her with Esmeralda securely in her arms. Her head was lolled to the side and her eyes were barely open. Bonnie finally woke up and Stefan got to work helping her up.

"Are you okay?" He asked. "You alright?"

Bonnie, feeling dizzy, grabbed onto Stefan and sat up with his help. Everything was still fuzzy as she started to stand. She wobbled slightly and had to lean against Stefan to keep her balance.

"It didn't work." Bonnie looked inside the cave, visibly upset. "I'm not strong enough. Even with help, I can't do it."

"Aww, that's too bad." Luis faux pouted with an evil glint in his eyes. "I guess it's worth noting that I'm still hungry. Thankfully, my wife is in here with me, right?" With a sadistic smile, veins started protruding beneath his eyes as he prepared to sink his fangs into Esmeralda's neck once again. Stefan, acting both quickly and impulsively, vamp sped inside the crypt, grabbed Esmeralda, pushed her outside and retrained Luis against the wall with his forearm.

"Get her to safety," Stefan ordered as he sneered at Luis, who was smirking down at him. "Both of them. Go!"

Bonnie knelt beside Esmeralda and pulled her into her lap. She looked at Jeremy, who nodded. He started to pick Josiah up just as he began regaining consciousness.

"What's going on?" He groaned weakly. "What happened?"

"We'll explain later. Upsie daisy." Jeremy continued to lift Josiah onto his feet and turned to Esmeralda. He scooped her up bridal style as Josiah's eyes widened at the sight of his mom.

"Mom? Mom!"

"She's gonna be okay," Bonnie reassured. "We need to get her out of here. Let's go." She cast a glance at Stefan, who was still holding Luis back, while Jeremy and Josiah went ahead with Esmeralda. "We'll find a way to get you out. Promise."

**xxxx**

Caroline closed Mason's journal and placed it on the table next to Tyler's laptop.

"You know what? I don't think we should read this anymore."

"Why?" Tyler asked quickly. "What did you read?"

"There's… there's a reason it's called a curse, Tyler."

Tyler swiped the journal from the table and opened it up. He began to read a passage aloud.

"'Unimaginable pain. I thought it would never end. It was the worst night of my life'." Tyler laughed humorlessly, shut the journal and slammed it back down on the table. He sat down on the couch next to Caroline and Toby.

"Try to look at the bright side, okay? Toby said the transformation speeds up over time." While she was speaking, Tyler had gotten up from the couch, poured himself a drink and downed it in one gulp. "So, if you can just get through this first time, then…"

"Why are you helping me?" Tyler asked suddenly. Caroline furrowed her eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you care? We've never been friends before."

"That's not true," Caroline denied. "I've known you my whole life, Tyler. I-"

"We've never been close. Not like this. Toby is here. He can help. Why bother taking on this burden when you know I've already got someone here?"

"I don't know," Caroline said at last. "You just seem like you… like you kind of need it. A friend, not a long lost cousin who you barely know. No offense."

Toby shrugged. "None taken."

Caroline sighed. "I was alone when I turned. I had no control over my body or my urges. And… I killed somebody. I don't want that to happen to you. I don't want you to be alone."

**xxxx**

Damon opened a pair of double doors and exited the bedroom. Elena and Rose looked at him from their respective seats in the living room. Elowen was leaning against the kitchen counter with her arms crossed.

"Time to go," he announced. "Alice is soundly sleeping and won't remember a moment of this horribly stupid day."

"You'd think someone dating a vampire would be on vervain," Elowen noted. Before anything else could be said or done, the front doors burst open suddenly and three unknown men stalked into the apartment. Elowen jumped at the abrupt entrance while Rose and Elena stood up from their spots. Damon only looked at them.

"We're here to meet the doppelganger," a man who must've been Cody said. Elena stepped forward.

"Thank you for coming."

Elena attempted to walk towards the three men, but Damon pushed her back.

"I will break your arm," he whispered. He looked to Cody. "There's nothing here for you."

Just as unexpectedly as the men entering the apartment, one of them dropped to the floor, dead, revealing Elijah standing behind him with his heart in his hand. Rose gasped and immediately vamp sped out of the room, leaving everyone else there. Elijah looked over at Elena, Damon and Elowen, who felt another premonition coming on by just looking at him.

"'_Lijah, why do I have to die?" The little girl who looked exactly like Elowen asked. She was older than in Elowen's last premonition of her, no more than maybe 9 or 10 (she'd been roughly 6 or 7 the last time Elowen had seen her). She was sitting in Elijah's lap, who was brushing her hair._

"_Because you're special, little one," Elijah replied. The little girl craned her head back to try and look at him._

"_But the other kids in the village say that I'm weird because I hang around you and Nik, because you're vampires."_

_Elijah smiled softly and turned her head forward so he could continue brushing her hair. "They're just jealous that you have two, big, strong, immortal uncles and they don't."_

"_Even though Nik doesn't like me?"_

"_It's not that he doesn't like you, Marisol. He's just… distant by nature. He won't admit it, but he has a soft spot for you."_

_A wide grin broke out on Marisol's face. "Really?"_

"_Really. Now, how about I braid your hair now that it's brushed?"_

Back in the present, Damon looked at Elijah in surprise. "I killed you. You were dead."

"I told you that you didn't kill him," Elowen stated from behind him. Elijah's eyes shifted from Damon to her for a brief second, then back to Cody.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Who are you?" Cody shot back.

"I'm Elijah," he calmly replied. Cody's eyes widened.

"We were gonna bring her to you. For Klaus. She's the doppelganger. I don't know how she exists, but she does. Klaus will want to see her."

"Does anyone else know you're here?"

"No."

"Well, then, you have been incredibly helpful."

Elijah plunged his two hands into Cody and the other vampires chest and ripped their hearts out. They fell to the floor next to their friend, dead. Elijah dropped their hearts onto the ground. Damon stepped forward, prepared to fight with Elijah, but Elowen quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back. He looked back at Elowen with a look that clearly read, 'What the hell are you doing?'. She gestured with her head back to Elijah, who simply turned around and sped out of the room. Damon and Elena shared equally shocked expressions.

**xxxx**

On the way home, Elowen received a very worrying text from her brother.

_You need to get home. Now._

So, along with Damon and Elena (who stubbornly refused to go home because it might've 'included her'), Elowen sailed out of the car and into the house. She found Josiah, Bonnie, Esmeralda and even Jeremy huddled in the living room. At the sight of Jeremy's bandaged neck and Josiah applying antibiotic cream to Esmeralda's shoulder, she jumped into action.

"What happened? Is everyone okay? Mom?"

"I'm fine, honey. I lost some blood, but I'll live."

"We were trying to get the moonstone from Katherine," Bonnie started to explain. "And these three decided to break the plan and go rogue."

"Hey, we knew you couldn't bring that seal down and we were right," Josiah defended. "It would've worked if we'd just thought to include Luis in the spell."

"Spell? What spell? And where's Stefan?"

Everyone went quiet at her question. Damon and Elena had entered the house by now. Elena had rushed to Jeremy's side immediately, who pushed her off and bowed his head in shame as he realized someone would have to bite the bullet and tell Elowen the truth. Elowen didn't like how everyone was looking at her.

"Will someone please tell me where Stefan is?" She asked, much louder this time. Damon came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He went into the tomb to save my life," Esmeralda said at last. "He's in there with Katherine and Luis. But, we'll find a way to get him out."

Elowen was quiet for a long moment. Everyone in the room was waiting with a bated breath for her reaction. Finally, she started to slowly shake her head.

"No, not until we figure out how to de-spell the stone." Everyone looked at each other with surprise. "It's what Stefan would want. He's a big boy. He can handle himself in there."

Elowen turned and left, leaving everyone else to look at each other in confusion. Damon glanced at them and followed her upstairs. She was rushing up the stairs like her life depended on it and tried to close her door when Damon wedged his foot in the way. He pushed it open and entered the room, then closed the door. Elowen was pacing back and forth, tears beginning to fill her eyes.

"Today was just a steaming pile of _shit_," she bit out. "First, I accidentally take Elena on some stupid kamikaze mission, claiming that she's doing it to save her family, then reminds me that even if we render the stone useless, Klaus is still going to take somebody from my family and suddenly, her suicide agenda doesn't seem so stupid anymore! And now Stefan is stuck in the tomb with Luis? Katherine is the least of my worries, but Luis? What could he do to him in there?"

Elowen went over and sat on her bed, sniffling and trying to hold tears back. Damon sighed and took a seat next to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and brought her in close.

"You were right. Stefan is a big boy. He'll be fine. You, on the other hand, are not fine. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"... I've been thinking a lot lately. My life isn't nearly as important as Elena's, and I know for a fact it's me Klaus wants, so maybe I should just let him take me."

"Where's this coming from?"

"Ever since this whole thing started, it's just became glaringly obvious that my life doesn't matter as much as hers does, and-"

"Stop." Damon removed his arm from her shoulders and instead placed his hands on either side of her face. "Your life matters. _You matter_. Don't talk like that."

"But I'll always be second best next to her."

"Not to me you're not." He leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. "And how are you so sure it's you Klaus wants?"

Elowen shrugged. "I just know."

For some reason, she found herself not wanting to tell Damon about the premonitions she'd been having about the little girl named Marisol who looked exactly like her. The visions seemed sacred somehow, and so she wanted to keep them to herself until she knew more of the story. Until they started to make sense.

Damon sighed again. "Of course you do. Look at me." He waited until Elowen stopped looking at the ground and stared at him dead on. "We will figure this out. We always do, remember?"

"That's the thing, Damon. I don't know if I want to figure this one out. This is just all so stressful for me and I don't know if I can handle another second of it. I want it to go away."

"So, you're gonna what? Run away? That's not the Elowen I know."

"Then you don't know me as well as you thought."

Damon removed his hands from her face and stood up so he could head to the door. He stopped halfway and turned back towards her.

"You might be ready to give up, but I'm not. I _will_ find a way to keep you safe, whether you like it or not. I love you, Wen, and I'm not a quitter."

He continued his way to the door and left, leaving Elowen by herself. She sat there for a moment before she started crying.


	21. Chapter 21

"You trapped her in her house?" Stefan asked in disbelief. Damon was standing on the other side of the entrance, holding a bag in his hands. He shrugged.

"It's for the best, trust me. Elena is on a martyr tear that rivals your greatest hits. You should be glad the witch and I are even getting along."

"And Elowen?"

Damon faltered. His eyes flickered to Katherine, who was standing a few feet away, and then to Luis, who was leaning against the wall across from her. He smirked knowingly.

"She's trying to run away, isn't she? She always was a coward, forever choosing flight over fight. She won't be much help, take my word for it."

"You, shut up," Damon growled. It only made Luis's sinister smirk widen, but he quieted down. Damon finally handed over the bag that he was holding. "Care package. Candles, lanterns, and... lunch." He pulled a water bottle out of his jacket pocket and tossed it in the air.

"Give that to me and I'm just gonna have to share with the two of them."

"Like they're gonna want your bunny diet."

Still, Stefan shook his head. "No."

"You two are surprisingly calm, considering Klaus will hunt you down and kill you if you mess with his little plan," Katherine piped up.

Damon scoffed. "I've been dead before. I got over it." He redirected his attention back to Stefan. "Once we deal with this moonstone, we'll figure out a way to get you out."

"Don't worry about me. Just make sure Elena and Elowen are safe."

Damon cast one last glance at Katherine and Luis before leaving with the bottle of blood.

**xxxx**

"Heading out?" Carol asked, watching as Tyler and Toby headed for the door.

"Yeah," Toby replied. "Lunch at The Grill, then Tyler has practice and we'll probably go somewhere after. We'll be late."

Somebody knocked on the door and Tyler opened it. On the other side was a woman with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Jules?" Toby questioned as he stepped into view. She practically beamed when she saw him.

"Toby! I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"You know her?" Tyler looked between Toby and Jules, confused.

"Uh, yeah," Toby responded. "She's a good friend of dad's."

"Speaking of your dad, have you seen him? I'm trying to track him down."

"Mason's back in Florida," Carol informed Jules. "He has been for awhile now. He asked me to look after Toby while he was gone."

"See, that's the thing. He's not."

Toby felt himself panic on the inside. Nobody could know Mason was dead. Jules was going to ruin everything. He'd have to text Elowen and let her know what was going on before it was too late.

**xxxx**

Jenna was sitting in The Grill with Esmeralda and Alaric. She was currently telling them about some job Carol Lockwood has assigned her.

"So now I'm playing historical society hostess to some writer who's doing his book on a small town in Virginia."

"Well, that sounds…" Alaric trailed off.

"Lame, yeah, but Carol Lockwood played the 'dead husband' card, said she was too busy to deal. I'm just confused as to why she didn't ask you to help," Jenna turned to Esmeralda, "I mean, _you're_ the writer here."

"Maybe, but aren't you the one with family archives?"

"Good point. Look, I gotta bounce. Catch you guys later."

As Jenna left, Tyler and Toby entered The Grill and came to sit at a table with Caroline. Alaric and Esmeralda looked on in interest.

"Hey," Tyler greeted absentmindedly.

"Hey," Caroline returned the greeting. "What's wrong?"

"This girl Mason knows stopped by the house. She said he never made it back to Florida. My mom is freaking out and she was on the phone with your mom when we left."

Esmeralda and Alaric shared an alarmed look as they overheard the conversation. Toby and Caroline also exchanged a glance with each other without Tyler noticing.

"We should get going," Tyler said before things got awkward.

"Yeah," Caroline agreed. Her and Toby gave a knowing look to Esmeralda and Alaric as they passed them.

**xxxx**

Damon and Elowen joined Elena in her house a few hours later.

"You should really lock your door," Damon commented. Elena ignored him. "Oh, come on, pouty. At least give me two points for ingenuity."

"Do you think this is funny?" Elena snapped. Elowen's phone rang at that moment and she stepped out of the room to answer it.

"Yes, Elena. I find the hilarity in the lengths that I have to go to repeatedly save your life."

"What does Stefan say about this?"

"We had a good laugh."

"Bad news, guys," Elowen announced as she reentered the room. "That was Toby. Some woman named Jules is here looking for Mason."

"Well, she's not gonna find him," Damon replied in a 'duh' tone. Elowen hit him on the arm.

"Maybe not, but this is still bad."

"Did you tell Stefan about Elijah being alive?" Elena asked instead, turning the attention back to her. Elowen couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Yeah…. About that. I didn't tell him."

"Why not?"

"What can Stefan really do about it, Elena?" Elowen retorted. Damon pointed to Elowen in agreement and came to sit down on one of the armchairs. Elowen sat down in his lap. Damon wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"What she said."

Jeremy entered the room and sat next to Elena. Damon looked around the room when he came alone.

"Where's Bonnie?"

"I thought she was meeting you," Jeremy replied with furrowed eyebrows.

"No, she's on moonstone duty and I'm on Elena patrol."

"And who's on Tyler Lockwood and the full moon?"

"Vampire Barbie asked me if she could handle it, and I said why not? Figured if she screwed up, he'll bite her and then I'll be rid of two of my problems."

Elowen elbowed him in the stomach and Damon groaned in discomfort.

"My brother is out there helping, too, need I remind you. Be careful there, Damon."

"Hold on a second, tonight's the full moon?" Elena asked. Damon's phone started to ring and he gently pushed Elowen off of his lap so he could answer.

"Yep, but you were too absorbed in all your suicidal tendencies to notice."

Elowen followed Damon out of the room as he answered the phone. He put it on speaker so she could hear. It was Alaric.

"What?" Damon asked irritably when the call went through.

"Sheriff Forbes has officially declared Mason Lockwood a missing person," he told them.

"This must have something to do with that Jules woman," Elowen noted.

"You already know? Wait, don't answer that."

Elowen couldn't help but laugh a little. "Not for the reasons you think. Toby called me a few minutes ago and filled me in."

"Well, this 'Jules' character has everyone in a tizzy."

"That's not good," Damon said. "Where are you?"

"I'm at The Grill with Esmeralda."

"Okay, we're on our way."

Damon hung up and headed back over to Elena and Jeremy.

"Change of plans," he told Jeremy. "You babysit."

Jeremy shifted his position and laid his head on Elena's lap.

"Hey, y'know, you should get out, enjoy the sun," Damon sarcastically told Elena. "Oh wait, you can't."

Elowen tried not to laugh as Elena picked up a pillow and chucked it at Damon. She missed. Jeremy, on the other hand, laughed loudly. Elena pushed him off of her and he rolled onto the floor.

Damon and Elowen took their leave and closed the front door behind them.

**xxxx**

Caroline parked her car and Tyler, Toby and Josiah (who she'd picked up on the way) all piled out of her car. Tyler opened the trunk and started collecting his things.

"Maybe he just stopped to go surf somewhere," Caroline was saying as she, too, exited the car. "Isn't that Mason's whole thing?"

"Maybe," Tyler replied. "This girl seemed to think he would've called. I mean, haven't you heard anything from Mason? He _is_ your dad."

Toby shrugged. "Maybe once or twice, but nothing to set off any alarms," he lied. "Jules is just paranoid by nature. I'm sure he's fine."

"Yeah…" Tyler trailed off. "Let's just do this."

**xxxx**

Elowen, Alaric, Esmeralda and Damon were sitting at a nearby table when Jules entered The Grill. She was talking with Matt.

"Hmm," Damon hummed. "Mason's mystery woman."

"Where is Mason anyway?" Alaric asked.

"Decomposing in his truck."

Elowen wrinkled her nose at this piece of information. Damon turned to her.

"Getting any hits? Is she a werewolf?"

Elowen shrugged. "Not currently, but I don't need to use my power of intuition to figure out that she's a werewolf. It seems pretty obvious to me."

"Well, I hope not, being that it's a full moon, but it's all the more reason to find out."

"No, it's all the more reason to _leave her alone_, Damon. This is the night where she's at her strongest and a werewolf bite can kill you, remember?" Elowen fished her phone out of her pocket when it started to ring. Bonnie's name flashed across the screen. "Just don't do anything stupid, okay?" Then, she walked off to answer the call.

"What's up?"

"I've figured out how to de-spell the stone," Bonnie said quickly. "But, I need your help. Esmeralda would be nice, too."

Elowen glanced back at Damon, who was now holding a small plastic bag that no doubt contained wolfsbane. She wasn't sure if it was such a good idea to leave him on his own at the moment, but releasing the spell from the stone was top priority.

"Okay. Where are you?"

After ending the call, Elowen returned to the table. She nudged Esmeralda's shoulder.

"We've got to go. Bonnie knows how to fix our moonstone problem and she needs our help."

Esmeralda nodded and collected her things. Before they left, Elowen pointed a finger at Damon.

"Wolves have heightened sense of smell. She's gonna sniff that out in a heartbeat."

"_If_ she's a wolf."

"She is. This isn't something to play around with, Damon. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, alright?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Elowen sighed and leaned in to kiss Damon goodbye. Esmeralda did the same with Alaric.

"Keep an eye on him, would you?" Esmeralda asked lowly. Alaric nodded.

"I will. Now go."

Elowen and Esmeralda finally took their leave. They passed Jules on their way, who smiled at them politely. Elowen prayed Damon wouldn't fuck this up.

**xxxx**

"Tell me you brought the instruction manual," Caroline said to Tyler.

"Tell me you brought the wolfsbane," he retorted.

"Yes. Not an easy herb to find. Josiah was the one to get his hands on it." She pulled it out of a bag and held it up. "This is it."

Tyler reached over to touch it. Toby opened his mouth to warn him, but it was too late. Tyler yelped when it burned his hand and he drew away from it.

"I packed two water bottles in the bag," Toby informed them to change the subject. "We can mix it in there." He took the two bottles out and handed them to Josiah. "You'll have to do it."

Josiah nodded, took the wolfsbane, snapped it in two and put each half in their respective water bottles. Caroline crossed her arms from her spot in the corner.

"How are you guys doing?" She asked. Toby shrugged.

"Fine. The symptoms won't start to appear until the moon is at its fullest."

He stood up and started to take his shirt off. Caroline panicked when she saw this.

"Oh my god! You're not gonna get naked, are you?"

Toby tossed his shirt over by the bags. "To be honest, that's what I usually do, but since I have company…." When Caroline stood there and kept staring at him with wide eyes, he sighed. "This isn't like the hulk where we get to keep our pants, Caroline." He snapped his shorts against his leg. "It's elastic, so don't worry."

Caroline still blushed madly and turned around. Josiah couldn't help but laugh at her. She whined and hit him against the arm.

"Shut up!"

"I didn't say anything."

"Well, ugh!"

With a smile, Josiah leaned over and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Love you, too, babe."

**xxxx**

Alaric, pretending to be drunk, half sauntered and half stumbled towards the bar where Jules was sitting alone. He'd decided to help Damon with his idiotic plan because if he didn't, he would've tried it by himself and that would've been a disaster. Besides, he was still keeping a watch on him this way, right?

"Well, hello," he slurred. "Can I have a scotch and whatever this beautiful woman is drinking?"

Jules laughed lightly. "No, one is my limit."

"Oh, come on, it's not like I'm a freak. I'm just being friendly to somebody who's new in town."

"Okay, if you insist," Jules gave in. "How do you know I'm new?"

"Because I've never seen you here before and I am here every night."

"With that girlfriend of yours?"

Alaric blinked dumbly. "Huh?"

"I saw you earlier with that really pretty woman and her daughter. Do they know you're just a big flirt?"

"Uhh…"

Alaric hadn't been expecting this. Thankfully, Damon showed up at the right moment. Alaric just hoped she hadn't seen Damon with them as well.

"Excuse me, is this guy bothering you?" He asked Jules.

"I'm not bothering anybody."

"Perfect. Well, do it elsewhere." He looked down at Jules. "Don't worry, he's harmless. He's sort of the town drunk. When we get tired of him we just put him in a cab and send him back to wherever he came from."

While Jules was distracted, Alaric mixed the wolfsbane into her drink. When he was done, he scoffed.

"Please don't talk about me like I'm not here."

"Why are you still here?"

Alaric slid Jules's drink over to her, raised his own glass and then left. Jules took hold of her drink, but didn't drink it. Damon made eye contact with Alaric. He didn't want to admit Elowen had been right out of stubborness, so he'd have to figure out a way to get her to drink it without being suspicious.

Here's to nothing.

**xxxx**

Stefan was laying down inside the tomb. Katherine was leaning against the wall nearby with her arms crossed. Luis was nowhere to be found.

"So we're fasting now?" Katherine asked. "We're so pious. How long have you actually gone without blood? I know you get desiccation in theory, Stefan, but in reality, it's much worse. Your heart still beats, struggling to pump whatever blood remains. When it's gone, your veins rub together like sandpaper. It's excruciating."

Stefan sat up. "The pleasure I'll get from watching you suffer is greater than any pain I'll ever feel."

Katherine pushed herself off of the wall and walked over to Stefan. "It's stuffy and I've been in this dress for days. You want to help me out of it?" She lifted her hair out of the way and turned her back to Stefan so the zipper was exposed. When he didn't move, she pouted. "Come on, Stefan. Don't be such a grump."

Katherine unzipped the dress herself and wiggled out of it. "We're here together. Might as well make the best out of it."

She started to strut around in just her black bra and underwear.

"You really think Damon is gonna rush to get you out? He's got what he wants: Elowen. No more sharing her or taking turns. He's got her all the himself."

"Stop," Stefan growled gruffly.

"Given what's most certainly going on out there, I'd say you're free to do whatever you want in here," Katherine continued. "Nobody will ever know."

Katherine walked up to Stefan and kissed him. He pushed her away, but she leaned in and kissed him again. This time, Stefan kissed her back roughly. She pulled his shirt off as he pushed her against the wall and kissed down to her neck. They sped back over to where Stefan had been laying down and he continued to kiss down her body.

Suddenly, Stefan woke up with a loud gasp. None of it had ever happened. Katherine was back against the wall, fully clothed, looking at him. Luis was standing nearby, his eyes lit up with interest.

"You've got to teach me how to do that."

"Stay out of my head," Stefan demanded firmly, ignoring Luis. Katherine merely smirked.

"Maybe I can do eternity in here after all."

**xxxx**

Esmeralda and Elowen met up with Bonnie on a balcony somewhere in town. Elowen faltered when she saw a boy she didn't recognize standing hear her.

"Who's this?" She asked nervously.

"Sorry, I'm Luka," he introduced. "I'm new here, but I haven't seen you around."

"I've been busy," she answered shortly. Bonnie shot her a look that clearly read, 'Be nice'. Luka decided not to dwell on her behavior and glanced up at the sky.

"This is good. This is really good, actually. There's a clear view of the moon and it's private."

"If anyone looks up, they're gonna think we're insane," Bonnie laughed.

"So what is this mysterious talisman we're unbinding?"

Bonnie lifted up the moonstone. Luka took it from her.

"Oh, wow, a white rock," Luka sighed sarcastically. "This is fascinating."

"Hey!" Bonnie defended. "It know it doesn't look like much…"

Luka laughed. "What's it spelled with?"

Nobody said anything.

"Really?" Luka asked in disbelief. "Help a girl and her friends out and she still keeps secrets."

"Sorry…" Bonnie meekly replied.

"I'm just teasing you."

"Okay, kids, break it up," Esmeralda spoke up. "Let's just do the spell."

Luka set the stone in Bonnie's hand and put his own hand under hers. Elowen and Esmeralda did the same. They all closed their eyes and started chanting a spell. The stone started to rise up and then exploded in a shower of sparks. They all opened their eyes and watched at the sparks rained down on them. Elowen didn't buy it.

After the spell was over and they were packing up, Luka slid the moonstone into his pocket.

"You don't mind if I keep it, do you? I have a thing for rocks and besides, it's useless now, isn't it?"

Before Elowen could open her mouth, Bonnie smiled and nodded her head.

"Go ahead. I'm actually glad to be rid of it."

"Cool. I'll catch you later."

Luka walked off and Elowen felt herself thinking quick and running after him before she could process it.

"Luka, wait up!"

At the bottom of the steps of the balcony and out of Bonnie and Esmeralda's sight, he stopped and turned around. Elowen's facade immediately dropped and she lowered her voice.

"A floating rock and some sparks? You need to try harder next time, if there even is a next time."

Luka furrowed his eyebrows and tried to speak, but Elowen cut him off.

"I don't trust you, I don't like you and I am most certainly on to you." She put out her hand. "I suggest you give me the moonstone and walk away."

After a beat of silence, Luka reluctantly took the moonstone out of his pocket and placed it in her hand. Elowen clasped her fingers around it and placed it in her own pocket.

"Good choice."

At the sound of Bonnie and Esmeralda's voices floating down the steps, Elowen put on a smile and patted Luka's shoulder. "I just wanted to say thank you so much for your help. We never would've figured this out without your grimoire."

"Yeah, thanks again, Luka," Bonnie thanked, completely missing the look on Luka's face.

"Uh… yeah, it was no problem. Don't worry about it. I've gotta go."

He turned and left without even a glance.

Elowen's phone rang and Elena's name popped up on the screen. She picked it up and had to draw the phone away from her ear at Elena's frantic yelling.

"Elena, calm down. Calm down. What's wrong?"

"Elijah's been invited into my house and he wants to talk," she spilled in one breath. "He won't say anything until you've showed up."

Elowen's face went slack. "Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can. Sit tight." She turned to Bonnie and Esmeralda, who were looking at her questioningly. "I have to go. I'll explain later."

**xxxx**

Tyler, Toby, Josiah and Caroline were all sitting around down in the Lockwood cellar. Both Toby and Tyler were shirtless and in shorts, with chains locked around their wrists, ankles and necks.

"What time is it?" Tyler asked.

"Almost 8," Caroline replied. "What time does the moon crest or whatever?"

"Not for awhile," Josiah said. "But Toby mentioned earlier that the first transformation can happen before the moon hits its apex."

Caroline turned to Toby. "How long will you two actually be wolves?"

Toby shrugged. "It depends. I've never been a wolf the entire night before, if that's any consolation."

Tyler got up and tried to sit next to Caroline and Josiah, but the chains were just short enough to where he was unable to. Giving up, he made a grab for one of the bottles of wolfsbane water. He handed it to Toby and picked up the other one.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Caroline questioned quietly.

Tyler nodded. "Yeah. Toby said it'll diminish my strength so we can't break free. Mason said so, too."

Toby, having done this multiple times before, had already braced himself and started to drink. Tyler, on the other hand, hesitated. He stalled even longer as he watched Toby choke, spit out the water and gag. Tyler took a deep breath, sucked it up and took a few swallows. He met the same fate as Toby and even threw up on the floor a little. He fell to the ground, coughing. Caroline scooted closer and put a hand on his back.

"Caroline…" Josiah muttered in warning, but she ignored him and started to shush Tyler in a soothing manner. He lashed out almost immediately.

"Don't! I said don't!"

Caroline jumped back and Josiah grabbed hold of her arm to pull her back out of his reach. Once Tyler was back to normal, he shot Caroline an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry."

**xxxx**

Elowen entered Elena's bedroom and carefully closed the door behind her. Elijah was sitting at the windowsill. He stood when Elowen came in.

"Forgive me for the intrusion," he said calmly. "I mean both of your families no harm."

"Why did you kill those vampires when they tried to take me?" Elena asked the question that had been burning inside her since he came into the house. He refused to answer anything until the both of them were there.

"Because I didn't want you to be taken," Elijah said simply. "Klaus is the most feared and hated of the Originals, but those that fear him are desperate for his approval. If word gets out that the doppelganger exists, there'll be a line of vampires eager to take you to him and I can't have that."

"Isn't that what you're trying to do?"

"Let's just say that my goal is not to break the curse."

"So, what is your goal?"

"Klaus's obsession has made him paranoid. He's a recluse. He trusts only those in his immediate circle."

"Like you?"

"Not anymore." Elijah's eyes flickered from Elena to Elowen. "You're awfully quiet."

Elowen was staring at Elijah with not much emotion in her eyes. She wasn't going to play his game and she definitely wasn't going to let him read her.

"What do you want with me?" She questioned. "Why am I here?"

"As a Ramirez, this concerns you, too."

"But why me? Why not my mom or my brother? Why me?"

Elijah crossed his arms in front of him and watched her. She did nothing but look at him. Elena looked between the two of them like she was missing something. Finally, after a long beat of silence, Elijah turned to Elena.

"Would you mind stepping out of the room for a moment?"

Elena looked at him in disbelief. "You can't be serious?"

When Elijah stayed quiet, she huffed and left the room. When she was gone, Elijah went back to staring at Elowen.

"Well? You're free to say what is on your mind."

"Who's Marisol?"

Elijah immediately tensed at the sound of her name. "How do you know about her?"

"It doesn't matter. Who is she? And why does she look like me? Is that why you want me?"

"I will not answer anything until you tell me how you know her."

"Then neither of us are gonna get an explanation."

Elowen turned away, but Elijah stepped after her. "Wait."

She turned back around and looked at him expectantly.

"I will tell you what you want to know as long as you do the same, but not while there is a doppelganger eavesdropping on the other side of that door. I will find you at a later date so we can discuss this."

"You promise?"

"You have my word."

Elowen nodded. She took a step back and opened the door to Elena's room, who was standing there with her arms crossed.

"He's all yours."

She walked passed Elena and shared one last glance with Elijah before closing the door and leaving.


	22. Chapter 22

Tyler was writhing in pain on the ground. He gripped onto the chain on his neck and tried to pull it off, but Caroline was trying her best to comfort him. Toby was off to the side with Josiah, who, like in the video, was only drenched in sweat.

"Tyler," Caroline said softly. "Tyler."

Tyler cried out. "I'm burning up. It burns!"

"I know. Just breathe through this, okay?"

"I'm trying. You should go. You should leave."

"Not yet."

"Care," Josiah quietly spoke up. "He's right. We need to get out of here before it's too late. Before one of us gets hurt."

"No, not yet."

"Caroline!" He hissed.

"I said not yet!"

Suddenly, Tyler screamed out as his bones started to break. His left arm bent at an odd angle and Caroline screamed, too. He was crying when Toby started to turn as well. His back made a loud snapping noise and he let out a strangled cry. Josiah quickly stood up and grabbed Caroline's arm.

"We need to go. Toby's gonna transform faster than Tyler. Come on."

Josiah was able to pull her away and through the metal gate. He locked the chain to keep it closed and took Caroline's hand. Together, they watched Toby begin to sprout hair on his arms and legs as his transformation started to take place. Josiah immediately pushed Caroline through the door as Toby, with bright, amber eyes, growled and sped over to the gate faster than they could blink. Josiah stumbled and fell out of the room. Caroline acted fast by closing the main door and barricading it with a block of wood.

They stood there while listening to Toby ram into the door. Now a wolf, his strength was enhanced and he managed to tear a hole through the door. With a gasp, Josiah pulled Caroline with him up the stairs and ran back towards the car.

"Wait! Tyler-"

"Will be fine, remember? Toby said he won't hurt family even as a wolf. Leave him. We'll come back later."

They both piled into the car. Caroline started up the ignition and then they left.

**xxxx**

"Y'know, listen, I'm really tight with the Sheriff," Damon was telling Jules. She still hadn't touched her drink and Damon was starting to think that maybe Elowen had been right, as she always was. "If there's anything I can do to help locate Mason, I will. He's a great guy and after his brother's funeral, him and his son stuck around and helped his nephew and-"

"Tyler?" Jules asked. Damon nodded.

"Yep. Mason was with him the whole time. Helped him through all that grief. His son, too. My girlfriend's best friends with him; they went to middle school together, go figure. He's a good kid."

"Sorry, lemme get this straight. If your girlfriend went to school with Toby, then they're the same age. You're dating a teenager?"

Damon stuttered. He'd been about 25 when he was turned and it never occurred to him how bad it looked when he was with Elowen. A 25 year old dating a minor? Realistically, he should be in jail, but he was a vampire and nothing about this was realistic. Jules smirked at his reaction and held her hands up.

"Frankly, it's none of my business, so…. I heard nothing."

Damon cleared his throat and, desperate to change the topic, nodded towards her glass. "You haven't touched your drink."

"Y'know, I'm not much of a drinker. I should get going."

"Oh, come on. Look, one drink."

"... It'll help me sleep," Jules pretended to give in. Damon lifted his glass.

"To sleep."

She lifted her glass, smelled it and slammed it back down on the bar.

"You fool. You think you're clever, don't you?"

Damon dropped the act. "What do you want with Mason Lockwood?"

"He's my friend."

"Well, I'm sorry to inform you that you probably won't find him."

"And why not?"

Realizing that he probably shouldn't dangle Mason's death in front of her face, Damon changed his tune. "You should leave town."

"You're threatening me?" Jules questioned half in disbelief and half in amusement. "On a full moon? How stupid are you?"

Alaric had gotten up the second he saw the circumstances change and approached Damon and Jules. "Damon, how about that second round?"

"I think we're done, Ric." Damon looked back at Jules. "You think I'm afraid of you?"

"No, I don't. That's your vampire arrogance. You should be. I sniffed you out the moment you entered this bar, along with your pathetic wolfsbane. I've been at this a long time and any other night of the month, the situation would be reversed, but tonight is not the night to pick a fight with me. You've been marked."

Jules got up and took her leave, leaving Damon and Alaric staring at each other. After a few minutes, Damon also got up and started to follow her outside. Alaric quickly followed.

"Where is she?"

"Just let it go, Damon. Don't be stupid."

"So, what? Just let her get away? 'You've been marked'. What the hell kind of wolf throw down crap is that anyway?"

"Damon, look up! Just look up! Elowen was right. She smelled the wolfsbane a mile away just like she said. This was not the night to pick a fight. You should've listened to her."

"I didn't see you following her advice, either, Mr Big Shot."

"Because if I'd let you do this by yourself, I would've been blamed for it."

"Well, you're still gonna get blamed for it since you helped me, so what was the point?"

"Look, that doesn't matter anymore. If this werewolf stuff is true like Elowen said, which it probably is, then it's one bite and you're dead. One bite! Alright? Don't risk it. Just go home, lock your doors and we'll deal with it in the morning."

After a beat, Damon nodded. "Yeah."

Him and Alaric parted ways.

**xxxx**

Damon arrived back at the boarding house, locked the door and headed into the library. Rose was sitting on the couch.

"You just can't stay away, can you?" He asked.

"You don't answer your phone," she replied. She'd stood up and was standing in front of Damon now.

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to apologize."

"Just admit it, you don't have anywhere else to go."

"I'm sorry about Elena. I wasn't thinking straight. I didn't know she had a death wish, but Elowen called you to make it right. She said that Stefan was too soft, that you'd do what it took to get her home. I'm sorry, Damon…. And, I have nowhere else to go."

"There's nothing here for you, Rose."

Before Rose could answer, the sound of breaking glass sounded throughout the house from another room. The two of them went into the living room to investigate. The window nearby shattered and a wolf came lunging through. Damon made a grab for the sword that was hanging on the wall, but before he could move any farther, the wolf made to jump for him. Rose quickly pushed him out of the way. The wolf instead landed on her, pushing her to the ground and bit into her shoulder. Rose screamed in pain and Damon quickly stabbed the wolf with the sword. The wolf whimpered and fled the scene.

"How bad is it?" Damon asked as he dove down to check on Rose.

"It hurts," Rose replied. Damon watched as the bite started to heal.

"It's healing."

"Oh my god, I thought a werewolf bit was fatal! Elowen said… I thought…" Rose started to cry and Damon embraced her.

"You're gonna be okay."

**xxxx**

"You were successful?" Jonas asked as Luka entered the apartment. Luka sighed and shook his head.

"No. Her friend didn't buy it. She has the moonstone."

Jonas lifted his head and hummed. "Well, we'll just have to get her friend to trust us."

"I don't think she will. She said that she's onto me."

"That's a shame. Wait," Jonas said when Luka tried to walk away, "Elijah needs us to do one more thing before we lose the full moon."

**xxxx**

When Elijah asked Elowen to come to the tomb, saying she was confused was an understatement. He'd just appeared on her doorstep (more like her window) and told her he needed her help. How he even knew where she lived, she didn't know.

"I'm not helping you until I know what I need to know."

"Even if it concerns getting your boyfriend out of that little tomb?"

Elowen stood up straighter. "How do you know about that?"

"It was apart of my deal with the doppelganger. Free Stefan Salvatore and she'll follow my instructions."

"You know I can't open that thing on my own. Even if I wanted to help, I can't."

"I happen to know a pair of witches willing to assist you. If you'd come with me, you would be a great asset."

"Asset to what?"

"In due time. Are you coming?"

Elowen crossed her arms. "Not without my mom and brother. And on one condition. There's another vampire in there with Stefan. His name is Luis. He stays."

Elijah thought this over for a moment. "You come on your own and I'll make sure he stays put."

Elowen and Elijah stared at each other before Elowen finally shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but I don't feel comfortable doing this with two witches I don't know and without my family. Just promise me that he doesn't get out and it'll be enough for me."

Elijah nodded. "Very well. I'll be seeing you very soon so we can discuss what we need to."

And then he was gone.

**xxxx**

"Are we seriously not going to talk at all?" Katherine asked as she approached Stefan, who was sitting down nearby. Luis scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Will you give it up? Listening to you whine about this is getting on my nerves."

Katherine glared at Luis. "Shut up before I rip your heart out," she snarked.

"Then go ahead."

Katherine zoomed over to Luis, but before she could do anything, Stefan spoke up.

"Will you two stop it? You've been at each other's throat this whole time. If anything is getting on anyone's nerves, it's listening to you go at it."

With one last sneer, Katherine turned away and started towards Stefan again. "What do you want me to say, Stefan? That I'm sorry for everything that I've done? Well I'm not, okay? It's called self preservation. I've been looking out for myself for 500 years."

"And look where it's gotten you."

"Yes, I've done terrible things. I know that, but I do love you, Stefan, even if you don't believe it."

"You want me to believe you? Show me. Do something. Prove to me that there's something inside of you that's actually worth trusting."

Luis let out a loud snort. Both Stefan and Katherine turned to him with annoyed stares. He stayed quiet, but there was a smug smirk across his lips.

"And then what?" Katherine questioned as she looked back at Stefan. "You're still gonna hate me."

"Then what's the point in trying so hard?" Luis wondered. "Nobody likes a piner."

Katherine's hand was on his throat in an instant. Stefan stood up just as fast.

"Katherine."

"What? You want him dead. That much is obvious. I can solve your little problem right here, right now and nobody would even know about it."

The sound of the door to the tomb opening caught their attention. The three of them looked at each other. Katherine reluctantly let go of Luis and started for the entrance. Stefan was surprised to see Elijah on the other side and Katherine looked fearful. Luis, having no idea who this was, narrowed his eyes.

"And who the fuck are you supposed to be?"

Elijah acknowledged him. "You must be Luis. I'd say pleasure to meet you, but I'm guessing you're in here for a reason."

"Elijah," Katherine said.

"Good evening, Katerina. Thank you for having the good sense to be frightened." He looked to Stefan. "Your release has been requested."

"What? By who?"

"The lovely Elena drives a hard bargain. However, we reached a peaceful agreement, she and I. Please," Elijah gestured to Stefan to walk forward, "come."

Stefan shook his head. "I can't."

"Yes, you can. I've had the spell lifted."

Slowly, Stefan edged his foot out of the tomb. Upon seeing it wasn't blocked, the rest of him exited. Once he was out, both Katherine and Luis zoomed to try and leave. Elijah grabbed Luis by the neck while he compelled Katherine.

"As for you, however, you should not exit until I say so. When Klaus comes, he'll want to know exactly where you are." Then, he looked to Luis. "To be frank, I have no idea who you are and what you stand for, but I've been asked to make sure you stay in here. Therefore, you will sit here with Katerina until I deem it necessary for you to leave."

He let go of Luis and stepped back. "You're free to go," he told Stefan. "Elena will explain the arrangement to you. If she keeps her word, I'll keep mine."

"Stefan, no," Katherine begged as Elijah left. "Please don't let him leave me in here."

Stefan looked at Katherine for a moment before answering her. "Goodbye, Katherine."

With one last look, Stefan left.

**xxxx**

"Shouldn't we go check on them now?" Caroline asked Josiah. It had been hours since they left Toby and Tyler at the Lockwood cellar.

"I think it's safe now. Let's go."

They carefully took the steps down towards the door and look at each other. It was quiet. Caroline gently lifted the block of wood holding the door closed and opened the door.

"Tyler?" She called.

"Toby?" Josiah whispered.

"We're fine," Toby replied. Caroline and Josiah rushed in when they realized they were both human again. Toby was fully dressed as he had brought an extra pair of clothes (being at this much longer), but Tyler was only sitting in a pair of boxers.

"You're okay!" Caroline cried as she knelt down to Tyler's level. "You made it. You didn't get out. You're okay."

Tyler started to cry. "No, I'm not."

Caroline embraced him while Josiah and Toby shot each other sympathetic looks.

**xxxx**

Elowen was sitting at her desk, glasses perched on her nose, while she finished writing an essay that was due for her English class. She saw something in the corner of her eye and when she looked over, she saw Stefan standing her doorway. A wide grin broke out on her face and she stood up to greet him with a kiss.

"You're out!"

"I'm out," Stefan repeated. He kissed her again and Elowen started pulling him towards her bed.

"Y'know," she mumbled against his mouth, "my mom is staying with Alaric tonight and Josiah's with Caroline. I have the house to myself."

She felt Stefan smirk on her lips. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"And what do you think I'm saying?"

Stefan shook his head. "Naughty, aren't you?"

Elowen kissed him again and Stefan lifted her in order to lay her on her bed.

"Oh, I'll show you just how naughty I can be."

**xxxx**

"I talked to Caroline and Josiah. They said both Tyler and Toby were all locked up." Damon was sitting on the couch with a drink in his hand. Rose joined him.

"So it was Jules. The other werewolf, the one who attacked you."

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I picked a fight with her, she was coming for me."

"All's well that ends well."

"You're really all healed?" Damon found it hard to believe that Elowen had been wrong. Rose, sensing this, nodded her head.

"Yeah, it seems that way. Maybe your girlfriend was just confused."

"Yeah, maybe…." He trailed off. With a sigh, Damon took a sip of his drink. "For the record, I'm happy that the legend was fake. Maybe the werewolves made it up to keep vampires away."

"Lucky me." Rose set her hands on Damon's to get his attention. "I'm gonna stay and help you."

"Help me do what?"

"Save Elowen, protect Elowen, all things Elowen. Although, from what I've gathered, she can handle herself."

"Really? Why?"

"Because I like you. I believe in friendship. I happen to have a vacancy in that department and you can use all the friends you can get."

"Ouch."

Rose laughed and made to get up. She winced and rolled her shoulder back. Damon, furrowing his eyebrows, stood up as well and pulled her shirt back to reveal multiple sores and blisters coating her shoulder where she had been bit.

They looked at each other in worry.

This wasn't good.


	23. Chapter 23

Stefan woke up with a smile when he remembered what had happened the night before. His arm was draped over Elowen's waist and he had to detangle their limbs so he could stand up. He put on his boxers and jeans before sneaking out of the bedroom for some water (a very human thing for him to do, but since he couldn't go out hunting it would have to do). It sounded like Esmeralda and Josiah were still gone, but he was very much wrong when he rounded the corner towards the kitchen. Standing there waiting for him was Esmeralda with her arms crossed.

"And what do you think you're doing here?"

Stefan froze in his spot. He almost hated how much he felt like an actual teenager being caught by somebody's mom (says the guy who pines for humanity, ironically). When he didn't say anything, Esmeralda raised an eyebrow.

"Well?"

Stefan stuttered for a moment while he tried to gather his thoughts. "Um- I was just- This isn't- I should just-"

Then, Esmeralda did something very unexpected. She started to laugh. A full, well rounded, hearty laugh. Stefan stopped and stared in confusion. His mouth was slightly open and his eyebrows slowly furrowed. What was happening?

"I'm just fucking with you. I'm Eliana, Esmeralda's twin sister. You must be the vampire boyfriend. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I'm a cool aunt, so Esme will never find out her daughter had a boy over."

Stefan still stood there dumbly. When he didn't say anything, Eliana waved a hand in front of his face.

"Hellloooo? You did know Esmeralda had a sister, right?"

Finally, Stefan broke out of his stupor. "Well, yeah, I just didn't-"

"Know she was a twin. Got it."

"How did you-"

"Get in? I have my ways. Where's Elowen?"

Stefan was still trying to process what was going on. This was a lot to take in. Slowly, he pointed upstairs.

"She's still asleep."

Eliana made a shooing motion. "Well, go wake her up. I'm making breakfast." She paused. "You _do_ eat breakfast, right?"

Stefan laughed. "Yes, I eat breakfast." He turned towards the stairs. "I'll go get her."

"Oh, and put on a shirt!" Eliana called as he left. Stefan suddenly felt incredibly naked when he remembered he was only in his jeans.

He started back up the stairs and into Elowen's room. Thankfully, she was already starting to stir when he walked through the door. She stretched, turned to Stefan and smiled.

"Mornin'."

Stefan smiled back. He leaned down and kissed her. "Mornin'," he whispered back. "Now, get up. Breakfast awaits."

"Ooh." Elowen stood up and grabbed only her underwear and her shirt, but Stefan stopped her.

"You better get all the way dressed."

She was slightly confused, but listened anyway. Once she was fully clothed, her and Stefan ventured back downstairs. To say Elowen was surprised to find Eliana and another woman Stefan didn't know standing in the kitchen was an understatement.

"Aunt Eliana?!" She eagerly ran forward and engulfed Eliana in a hug, who was laughing as she was practically trampled.

"Hey, where's my love?" The other woman asked, voice thick with an English accent. She had darker skin and her hair was in its natural afro state. It was short and cute and Stefan had to admit that she was absolutely beautiful. Elowen pulled back and embraced the second woman.

"It's good to see you, Sydney."

When she pulled back, she looked back towards Eliana. "What are you doing here? And does mom know?"

"No, she doesn't. It was supposed to be her I was surprising, not you and Angel here."

"Angel?" Stefan asked perplexedly.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Elowen replied offhandedly. "Eliana always preferred Buffy."

"Can you blame me? Sarah Michelle Gellar is hot."

"Faith was always my favorite," Sydney commented.

"Wasn't she like, evil?" Elowen questioned.

"No, she was more of an anti hero," Sydney defended.

"Okay, enough of this." Elowen turned to Eliana. "You still haven't explained why you're here."

"Well, your mom might've mentioned there's some big, bad vampire dude who's out to kidnap you and kill Elena, who, by the way, I barely remember except for the fact that she can really hold her alcohol, and I decided that I was going to come help."

"And, as you know, Ana and I are a package deal, so I had no choice but to follow her here."

"Oh, shut up, Syd. You had the option to stay if you wanted."

Sydney smiled and leaned over to kiss Eliana. "No need to be so serious. You know I love you."

Stefan's eyebrows shot up at this. "Oh! You two are...?"

"Yes," Eliana answered shortly. "Is that a problem?"

Stefan immediately shook his head. "No! No, don't worry."

"Good."

"So, wait," Elowen cut in. "You're moving in?"

"Mm-hm." Eliana nodded towards the living room, where their bags were perched on top of the couch. "You've got a guest room, don't you?"

"Well, I guess it's not a guest room anymore."

Elowen gasped as a thought dawned on her. "Binx. Where's Binx?"

Eliana smirked and whistled loudly. Binx came bounding through the open backdoor that Elowen never noticed was unlocked and barked in excitement at the sight of her. She got onto her knees to greet him and let him lick her face. However, when he realized Stefan was there, he rounded on him and started to growl.

"I don't think he likes vampires," Elowen said. "He did the same thing with Damon."

"Ohhh, so _this_ is the vampire boyfriend." Sydney nodded to herself. "Wait, can he even eat the breakfast we're making?" She turned to Stefan. "Sorry. I've never met a vampire before."

Elowen, from her spot on the ground (where she was trying to calm Binx down), glanced at Stefan. "Sydney's human," she explained. "Imagine the shock she got when she found out witches were real."

"Sometimes I still can't believe it." Sydney leaned up against the island. "It's like living in a movie."

Stefan laughed. "To answer your question, yes, I can eat regular food. It doesn't taste quite the same anymore, but it helps curb the blood cravings. Don't worry," he added quickly when an alarmed look crossed Sydney's face. "I don't drink human blood. You're safe with me."

Finally, Binx relaxed but wouldn't move from his spot in front of Elowen, as if to protect her. Stefan's ears perked up.

"Your phone is ringing. Be right back." He took off using his speed, thoroughly freaking Sydney out in the process. He was back within seconds, leaving her gaping with wide eyes.

"You mean you heard that from all the way down here?" She asked in amazement. "That's so cool!"

"It's Damon," Stefan told Elowen as he handed her the phone. Sydney was still staring at him in awe while she answered it. Eliana was giggling to herself at Sydney's reaction.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Rose was bitten by that Jules chick last night."

Stefan and Elowen looked at each other in horror. Eliana and Sydney both looked confused at this. They glanced at each other and shrugged.

"Okay, Stefan and I will be there as soon as we can."

Elowen hung up and stood.

"What's wrong?" Eliana asked immediately. "Can I help?"

Elowen shook her head. "Unless you know a cure for a werewolf bite."

"_Werewolves_?" Sydney asked incredulously. "You didn't tell me they were real, too!"

Eliana ignored her girlfriend and grimaced. "Sorry, but I don't. Who was bitten?"

"A friend of ours named Rose," Elowen replied. "Sorry, but we're gonna have to take a raincheck on that breakfast."

**xxxx**

Rose and Damon were sitting in the library.

"I was born in 1450," she was telling Damon. "That makes me 560 years old."

"Well, if you were a bottle of wine…" Damon trailed off, trying to lighten the mood. He was holding a blood bag.

"So, I can die. I've lived long enough."

"Y'know, if you're gonna be like this, I'm just gonna kill you myself to put me out of your misery." He poured the blood into a glass and handed it to Rose. "Come on, it's just a little werewolf bite."

"Just a little, fatal to a vampire werewolf bite. Looks like your witch girlfriend was right after all, which means there's no cure." Rose took the glass from Damon and took a sip. "The blood feels like it's working. Give it a look, will you?"

Damon walked over and pulled her shirt down to check on the bite. It had gotten considerably worse than from the night before. He made a face, but tried to play it off.

"Definitely… better. Right, guys?"

He turned to face Elowen and Stefan as they entered the room. Elowen paused at the sight of her wound. Stefan cleared his throat.

"It's not that bad."

The sound of the front door opening and closing rang out through the house, leaving everyone in the room to look at each other in confusion. Elena rounded the corner.

"Good, you're all here. I have something to tell you."

After they were all caught up on Elena's deal with Elijah, Stefan stood from the couch, shaking his head.

"So, we're just supposed to pretend that everything is okay?"

"Yes. Elijah promised to keep me and everyone else safe as long as we play by his rules," Elena said. "He even offered to make sure Klaus doesn't take Elowen."

"Right. As long as you play by _his_ rules."

"Well, that's not happening," Damon interjected. "I don't play by anyone's rules but mine."

"... What about Isobel?" Elowen asked quietly. "She managed to track down both Katherine and Damon. She might know something."

"No," Elena rejected immediately. "Please don't go after Isobel."

Stefan ignored her. "That's not a bad idea. Look, I just have a couple questions and she could have some answers."

"Stefan, I made a deal with Elijah," Elena stressed.

"Right, _you_ made a deal with him. I didn't make one. None of us did. You should keep your deal."

"Stefan, I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

"When have we ever wanted anyone to get hurt?" Elowen questioned. The whole time they were talking, she'd been preparing a vervain drink for Stefan. Damon thought the idea was stupid, but Stefan wanted to build up a tolerence like Katherine did. Elena saw what she was doing and furrowed her eyebrows.

"What's that?"

"Vervain," Elowen replied. She took a sip before handing it to Stefan. "I made it as light as I could."

"Good luck with that, brother," Damon remarked. Rose scoffed.

"Knock it off. It's not a crime for him to not want to be compelled by Elijah."

"How can Elijah compel another vampire?" Elena asked, but everyone in the room simultaneously shrugged.

"He's an Original," Stefan answered. "I don't really know what that means. I don't think anybody really knows what that means. Well, except maybe Isobel. Maybe we should ask her." Stefan lifted his glass. "Bottoms up." He drank from the glass but started to cough almost instantly. Elowen, Rose and Elena all watched uncomfortably as he fell to the ground. Damon barely batted an eyelash. After a moment, Stefan recovered and stood back up.

"Are you okay?" Elowen questioned. Stefan nodded.

"Yeah. Look, I'm gonna meet up with Alaric and see if he knows how to contact Isobel. Think you'll be okay here?"

Elowen nodded. "Yeah."

Stefan leaned over and kissed her. "See you later."

Once he was gone, Elena turned to Elowen, Damon and Rose helplessly.

"You're just gonna let him go? This is going to upset Elijah."

Elowen threw her hands up. "Sorry, but I'm with Stefan on this one. You can't just give up."

"Ditto," Damon backed Elowen up. "This martyr complex thing is getting old." He stood from his spot next to Rose. "Now, if the both of you could play nurse for a little while…"

"It's not necessary," Rose cut in.

"It is necessary. Besides, Elena and Elowen are do-gooders. It's how they are. They just can't resist."

Damon started to leave the room, but Elena followed him. Elowen groaned, but trailed behind her.

"Is she gonna die?" Elena asked as softly as she could, so Rose wouldn't overhear.

"Yes," Elowen stated bluntly.

"The wolf bite caused some kind of infection and it's getting worse," Damon explained. "Which is why I'm going to pay Jules a little visit and see if she'll cough up the cure."

"First of all, I don't think that's a good idea. Second of all, I'm telling you right now that there is no cure and even if there was, she wouldn't give it to you."

"Doesn't hurt to try, does it?"

Elowen sighed and gave up. He turned and left, leaving her and Elena alone with Rose.

**xxxx**

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Caroline questioned. Everyone was preparing for the big barbecue at the high school and Caroline had come across Tyler.

"I'm okay," he replied. "I'm sore, every muscle aches, but Toby said that's normal."

"You did it. Y'know, your first full moon and you didn't hurt anyone. It'll get easier. You'll get better at it with Toby's help, you'll learn to control it and it won't hurt so much."

"Well, we don't know any of that for sure."

"No, but small victories, Tyler. Last night was a victory. Y'know, let's take it."

"Look, I really wanted to thank you and Josiah. I don't know what I would've done if it weren't for you two and Toby."

Caroline smiled widely. "Anyway, next month we should probably reinforce the wall, because Toby almost got me and it just would've been…" She trailed off when she realized what she was about to say. Unfortunately, Tyler picked up on it.

"What?"

Caroline quickly shook her head. "Don't worry about it."

"Wait, no, wait. What is it?"

Caroline bit her lip and hesitated. "Well, it's not a big thing. It just that one bite and it's… y'know, curtains for me."

"What are you talking about?"

"There's a legend that says a bite from a werewolf can kill a vampire and that there's no known cure."

"How do you know this?"

"Josiah told me."

In truth, it was really Elowen and Stefan who told her, but Tyler didn't need to know that. Before he could say anything else, Caroline pointed in a random direction behind him and started to scurry off.

"Gotta go, catch you later!"

**xxxx**

Alaric had just finished calling Damon to let him know Jules was at The Grill when Stefan took the seat across from him.

"Is that…?" Stefan started to ask. Alaric nodded.

"Yeah, that's her. I just left Damon a message. She could have a cure for Rose. I couldn't find anything in Isobel's research, except that it's fatal."

"Do you still know of a way to get in touch with her?"

"Even if I did, she isn't gonna help."

"Elowen suggested that Isobel might've known about Klaus."

"So this isn't about Rose, it's about Elowen and Elena." Alaric sighed. "I have an old number, probably out of service."

"No harm in giving it to me then?"

"You know you can't trust Isobel, even when it comes to Elena. And definitely when it comes to Elowen."

Stefan nodded. "I know that."

"Alright. I'm gonna see if I can find the number. If I do, I'll text it to you."

**xxxx**

Elowen's phone rang as Elena was helping Rose into Damon's bed. The caller ID showed that it was Esmeralda.

"Hey, mom. What's up?"

"How come you didn't tell me your aunt and Sydney were moving in?"

"First of all, I had no idea until I woke up this morning and second, I'm sure it's only temporary. Once this Klaus thing blows over, they'll be gone."

"Well, Ana's been telling me something different. That she's tired of the hustle and bustle of city life and that she wants to be closer to family. I think she's serious."

"Oh."

"Nevermind that. I was calling to see how Rose is doing. Ana told me what happened. That, and Sydney's asking so many questions it's starting to get on my nerves."

Elowen laughed. "Her excitement about all of this is kinda cute when you think about it. But, on a more serious note, Rose is..." She trailed off and glanced at Rose and Elena. She swiftly exited the room and lowered her voice. "She's not doing too well. I don't think she's gonna make it very long before the venom takes her."

"Rose seems like a good person. She doesn't deserve to go out like this, especially after being on the run for so long."

"I was thinking the same thing. It sucks that we can't do anything about it. Damon's gone to ask Jules if there's a cure, but I doubt it."

There was a long sigh on the other side of the line. "We can't solve everything. Anyway, Alaric is off helping Stefan with something and I think Josiah is with Caroline-"

"As usual."

"-So it's just me, Eliana and Sydney. Keep me updated, alright?"

"I will. Bye, mom."

Elowen hung up and ventured back into Damon's room. Rose was resting in his bed while Elena inspected her surroundings.

"That's right, you've never been in Damon's room before," Elowen said as she slid her phone into her back pocket. "Not what you expected?"

Elena was holding a copy of 'Gone with the Wind' in her hands and put it back where she found it. "It's just a room with a bed." She paused. "Maybe I expected there to be silk sheets."

Her, Elowen and Rose all shared a smile.

"You two are lucky, y'know," Rose started. "No one's ever loved me the way you're loved."

"I doubt that," Elena spoke, but Rose only shook her head.

"Trevor was my best friend, nothing more. I spent all those years on the run from Elijah. I just never thought it was a good idea to set up roots. The whole idea of family is not exactly compatible with being a vampire. Why are you so eager to give up?"

Elena grew uncomfortable. "I'm not giving up on anything. Here." She quickly handed Rose a fresh glass of blood in hopes that she would drop it. She didn't.

"Then what do you call this whole deal with Elijah?"

"I call it my best option."

"It's your easiest option."

"That's not fair."

"Do you really think that your witch friend destroyed the moonstone?"

Elowen cleared her throat when Elena looked at her expectantly. When she didn't say anything, she rolled her eyes and turned back to Rose.

"I spoke with Bonnie. It's been de-spelled."

Rose eyed Elowen. "But you don't think so."

Elena turned back to Elowen with furrowed eyebrows. Sighing, Elowen gave in and nodded her head.

"Bonnie and my mom fell for the show this other witch put on - Luka was his name - but it just seemed suspiciously way too extravagant for it to be real. Then he tried to take the stone afterward and it just sent off red flags, so I have it in my possession. If I'm wrong, then I'm wrong. But, if I'm right, then we're lucky I have it and not him."

"Who's Luka?" Rose asked and Elowen shrugged.

"I have no idea. Some new kid at school, I guess."

"When he did show up?"

It took a second for Elowen to process what Rose was implying, but when she did, her eyes widened her ever so slightly. "... Around the same time Elijah did."

"Elijah mentioned he has witches on his side," Elena cut in. "He just didn't say who."

"And you're sure we can trust them?" Elowen questioned. "Because Luka's already gained Bonnie's trust."

"If they're with Elijah, then yes. He said I have his word that nobody will get hurt."

"You really are determined to die, aren't you?" Rose asked after a moment. "At least I ran. You're not even trying."

"And what about Elowen?" Elena retorted sharply.

"I'm literally standing right here." Elowen crossed her arms. "The situations are different, Elena. We can stop you from dying. What can I do other than run? And don't tell me to fight. That would be rich coming from you."

The two girls glared at each other. Rose, who had stopped paying attention, had put the glass of blood on the nightstand and rolled over.

"I'm so tired."

It seemed like she fell asleep almost immediately, because she started mumbling in her sleep. Elowen and Elena tore their eyes away from each other and started to leave the room. They didn't even reach the door before Rose sat up in pain.

"I need more blood," she gasped. Elowen quickly crossed the room, picked up the glass from the nightstand and handed it over. Rose took it and drank, but instantly threw everything up onto the bed sheets.

"Elena, get me a washcloth," Elowen ordered. Elena obeyed and rushed into the bathroom. Elowen took her eyes off of Rose for just a second to watch Elena, but when she looked back, Rose was gone. Elowen freaked and started looking around the room for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, Elena screamed and Elowen whipped around to see Rose pushing her roughly against the door.

"It's all your fault, Katerina," Rose bit out. "You, Katerina, you did this." Her fangs were out and Elowen ran forward, afraid Rose would attack her.

"Rose!" She yelled, coming up behind her and trying to pry her hands off of Elena. "She's not Katherine! Rose!"

However, Rose easily pushed Elowen off of her, who landed on the ground with a loud thud.

"It's Elena," Elena tried to say unfearfully, but failed. "Rose. Rose! I'm Elena!"

"You betrayed us!" Rose exclaimed, still not understanding.

"She's not Katherine!" Elowen shouted from her spot on the ground. Finally, Rose released Elena. She took a step back and glanced at Elowen. She seemed to be coming to her senses and took a few more steps back.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry. I don't know what's happening to me. I'm sorry."

Elowen stood up and carefully reached out to grab her shoulder. "It's gonna be alright. It was only for a second."

"I'm sorry," Rose sobbed. "Don't be scared of me."

"We're not," Elena said. "But you need to rest."

They both led Rose back to Damon's bed and helped her lay down.

"I'm scared," Rose stated.

"You're not alone," Elowen replied. "We're right here."

"Here? Where's here?"

"Damon's bedroom. You're in Damon's bedroom."

"I want to go home."

"Tell me about it."

"St. Austell, 30 kilometers south of London, with fields and horses."

"Sounds beautiful," Elena commented.

"When you live long enough, everything disappears. So much time wasted. I just wish I wouldn't have been so afraid."

**xxxx**

Stefan was still at The Grill, waiting for Damon to show up. His phone buzzed. It was a text from Alaric, who'd sent him the number he had been talking about earlier. Stefan clicked on it and started to call it. Nobody answered.

"Isobel, it's Stefan Salvatore. I need to speak with you, it's about Elena. Please know that it's important."

Just as he hung up, Damon entered. He saw Jules and started towards her, but Stefan had gotten up and stopped him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Waiting for you," Stefan responded. "Listen, there's a lot of people here."

"Oh, damn. There goes my plan to rip her spleen through her back," Damon answered sarcastically.

"Hey, listen, I know you're upset about Rose."

"Why does everyone think that I'm upset about Rose? I'm fine. I don't know if you know this, but sometimes, vampires die. I'm gonna have a friendly chat with lady wolf, brother. Ease up."

Before Stefan could say anything, his phone started to ring. He looked down and saw it was the number he'd just called. Damon walked off towards Jules while he picked up the line.

"Well, if it isn't the one I meant to kill," Jules remarked as Damon took a seat across from her. "I'll have to get that right next time."

"You won't live to see another full moon, unless… unless you tell me how to cure a wolf bite and then I won't kill you."

"Promise?"

"Yes."

Jules pulled a few dollar bills out of her pocket, tossed them on the table and started to stand up.

"Bite me."

Damon quickly stood as well and grabbed her arm.

"I'm not afraid of you."

"Then you are very, very stupid."

"How's your friend? Rose, is that her name? Have the chills started? The unbearable pain?"

"If there's a cure, tell me or start watching your back."

Jules tilted her head mockingly. "Did I mention the dementia? It'll eat away at her brain. Soon, she'll be rabid. You want a cure? I'll tell you the only one that exists: take a stake and drive it through her heart."

Then, Jules left.

**xxxx**

Elowen was on the phone with Toby while Elena was off grabbing clean sheets for Damon's bed.

"And you're sure there's no cure?"

"I know you already know the answer to that question, Elles. For the record, I'm sorry for what Jules did. She always was a bit… revenge driven."

Elowen sighed. "How's Tyler?" She asked instead.

"He's holding up pretty well. Right now he's at the high school. Dragged me with him while he was at it."

"Ouch. I'm sure Caroline would've done the same if I weren't preoccupied."

"Speaking of that, she's really got your brother whipped, doesn't she?"

Elowen laughed. "Oh yeah, big time. He's so wrapped around her finger it hurts me."

There was a pause on the other line. For a second, Elowen thought the call dropped.

"Hey, so, uh… what's the story behind Elena?"

"She has a tragic backstory. Lost her parents in a car crash last spring. Why?"

"Well… I, uh…"

"Oh my god!" Elowen gasped. "You _like_ her!"

"Shush! I barely know her."

"But you want to."

"... Maybe," was Toby's quiet reply. Elowen smirked and Toby could just hear it through the phone.

"I'll try to put in a good word, but she sort of hates me, so I don't know how well that'll go down. Just ask her out. The worst she could say is no."

"You're right. Still, just…. Fish around a bit for me, will you?"

Elowen rolled her eyes. "Fine. Oh! By the way, Eliana and Sydney are visiting. I think they'd like to see you."

"God, I missed those two."

"'Course you did. They practically adopted you."

Toby laughed. "I'll try to stop by sometime. Talk to you later."

As Elowen hung up, she heard a loud crash from downstairs and started toward it. Just as she made it to the bottom of the steps, Elena came running out of the basement. She headed for the door, but Rose had already sped in front of her and tried to bite her. Acting as quickly as she could at the sudden change of events, Elowen threw her hand out and cast the spell. Rose dropped down and clutched her head in pain.

"Run!" Elowen yelled. "Come on!"

Elena stumbled and made to run up the stairs. Elowen held the spell as long as she could before she took off as well. They made it to Stefan's room and Elowen slammed the door shut and locked it as Elena pushed a piece of furniture against it. They both knew it wouldn't hold, but it would at least slow her down. Elowen dashed over and tore the windows open so sun flooded the room while Elena broke off the leg of a wooden chair as a means to stake Rose if she got into the room. Seconds later, the doorknob rattled.

"Elena? I know it's you and not Katherine." Rose coughed uncontrollably and groaned. "Guys? Please, I need your help."

Except, all Elowen and Elena did was look at each other, neither of them budging in order to open the door.

**xxxx**

"So…" Elowen tried to start speaking as her and Elena sat in Stefan's room. Rose had stopped trying to get in ages ago and the sun was slowly going down, which meant their only means of protection was about to be gone. Elena glanced at her, but didn't say anything. "You've met Toby, right?"

Now was _so not_ the time to ask, but sitting in silence was driving Elowen insane. Elena glanced up at her with a look that read, 'Why are you talking to me?', but she answered anyway.

"Once, I think."

"What did you think of him?"

Elena shrugged. "I dunno. He seemed nice. I guess he must be a good guy if you approve of him."

Elowen furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean by that?"

Elena squirmed, suddenly uncomfortable. "I mean…. I guess I mean you have a good judge of character, even if it's a bit skewed sometimes. You took a chance on Damon, which I thought you were insane for, especially when you started dating him, but," Elena shrugged, "I guess he turned out not being so bad, at least when it came to you. He really loves you."

Elowen was quiet for a moment. She was surprised it was Elena saying this to her. "Are you… complimenting me?"

Elena awkwardly shrugged again. "I guess so." She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, about blaming you for what happened to Jenna. It was partially my fault, too, for not realizing that Katherine had been invited in and was weaning her off of the vervain. And about earlier… you were right. Our situations are different. I guess I'm just… jealous."

Elowen furrowed her eyebrows. "Of what?"

"Of you. You have Stefan and Damon ready to die for you if that's what it comes to, two powerful witch family members at your disposal and now a werewolf named Toby. Not to mention Caroline, who I've been a terrible friend to. I'm glad she found a good friend in you."

"Elena…" Elowen approached her and took a seat next to her on Stefan's bed. "You've got Bonnie, Jeremy, me, Caroline and just about everyone else you mentioned fighting for you. You're just refusing to accept our help. Why is that?"

"I don't want everyone I care about getting hurt because they got in Klaus's way. Elijah's promised to keep everybody safe, including you. He said that you would be a great ally in this and that he would make sure Klaus doesn't do anything to you. It almost seemed like he cared about you."

Elowen thought back to the whole Marisol ordeal and vaguely wondered when he would explain himself. Neither of them said anything for awhile after that. When Elowen looked out the window, she realized the sun had gone down completely and that the house had gotten eerily silent. She carefully crept towards the door and started to move the furniture Elena had put there.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked in a whisper.

"It's too quiet," Elowen replied. "I don't like it." She unlocked the door and slowly started to leave the room. Elena, not wanting to be alone, got up from Stefan's bed and trailed behind her. They reached downstairs and saw that the front door was wide open. Uh-oh.

Elowen turned around to face Elena, but came face to face with Damon instead. It startled her a bit, but she recovered quickly.

"Are you okay?" He asked her worriedly. "Where's Rose?"

Elowen and Elena shared a look before Elowen shook her head. "We don't know."

**xxxx**

**Author's Note:** don't be fooled by the elowen/elena bonding moment. it doesn't last long lol. also, the reappearance of elowen's aunt eliana! and the introduction of her girlfriend sydney. just a reminder, eliana's fc is gina rodriguez and sydney's fc is freema agyeman. hope you like their characters!


	24. Chapter 24

Elowen had quickly dialed Toby's number when they realized Rose was gone and asked him to meet her at her house.

"The more people looking for her, the better," she had told Damon when he complained about it. He really didn't like Toby and he was sure the feeling was mutual.

Naturally, there was a small reunion once Toby arrived. Eliana and Sydney had engulfed him in a big bear hug and immediately started to baby him.

"You've gotten so big!"

"And handsome. I always knew you'd be a heartbreaker."

Eliana and Sydney told him, respectively. Toby grinned widely while Damon rolled his eyes. Binx came running downstairs when he realized there were visitors, wagged his tail enthusiastically at the sight of Toby and even did a little dance. He crouched down and let Binx lick his face.

"Of _course _he likes you. You're a mutt," Damon jabbed as Toby glared at him. The second Binx saw Damon, he started to growl. Toby smirked at this.

"Looks like he has a good judge of character."

"Funny, she said the same thing when he bit me." Damon nudged Elowen. Toby laughed.

"He bit you?" He turned to Binx. "Good boy, Binx! Good boy."

"Hang on, a mutt?" Sydney asked confusedly. Eliana winced.

"Right, sorry, you don't know. Toby's a werewolf."

"What?! First you don't tell me they exist and now I find out my favorite son is one? This is need to know information, Eli!"

"I'm your only son and I'm not even related to you," Toby pointed out.

"Shut up, Tobias," Sydney quipped.

"It's actually Toby now."

"You're British?" Damon asked Sydney. He contemplated this for a moment. "That's hot." He turned to Eliana. "You didn't mention your girlfriend was hot."

"Because you were too busy laughing at me for calling her Syd," Eliana reminded.

"Okay, enough," Esmeralda cut in. "Why did you call a family meeting?"

"Rose is missing," Elowen started to finally explain. "We were hoping that having more eyes looking for her would be better than three."

Eliana nodded. "Got it. Where should we look?"

At that moment, Damon's phone rang. He went into another room so he could answer it. Everyone else waited for him to come back before anything else was said.

"Well, the good news is, I know where she is," Damon said when he came back.

"And the bad news?" Elowen dared to ask.

"Rose has killed someone."

Everyone in the room went quiet. Esmeralda was the one to speak up next.

"Where is she?"

"The high school," Damon answered.

"Okay. Then that's where we'll go."

They all headed for the door, but Eliana stopped Sydney from going any further.

"I think it's best you stay here."

"Why? I want to help. And don't say it's because I'm human because Elena gets to go."

"I just don't know if you're ready to be thrust into this life. There's a reason I use magic in small portions around you."

Sydney cupped Eliana's face. "I'll be fine. I'm a big girl. Come on. We better go."

**xxxx**

As Damon talked to Sheriff Forbes, Toby, Elena, Sydney, Eliana and Elowen stood off to the side to seem casual and as if they hadn't seen anything. Esmeralda had gone off to find Caroline and Josiah to fill them in on what was happening. Elowen had tried calling Stefan, but it went straight to voicemail.

"Hey, it's me. I don't know where you are, but please call me. It's important."

Damon came over and joined them just as Esmeralda came back.

"So, what's the damage?" Elowen asked. "Did anyone see?"

Damon shook his head. "No. It's just the one, but we better find her before more bodies get added to the mix."

"I brought these just in case." Eliana had brought a bag with her and pulled out stakes for everybody. "I found them in Esmeralda's study."

"What were you doing in my study?" Esmeralda asked accusingly.

"Snooping, what else?"

"What's this for?" Sydney asked innocently as Eliana handed her one.

"It's a weapon for you to use against Rose if you absolutely have to," Eliana explained. "A stake to the heart will kill her."

"Oh." It was finally starting to dawn on Sydney how serious this was. "How will I know who Rose is?"

"Trust me, you'll know," Damon replied. "Are we ready?"

When everyone nodded, he turned and left. Sydney started to leave, too, but Eliana pulled her back.

"Oh no, you're coming with me."

"But-"

"Not buts, let's go."

"Toby, you go with Elena," Elowen told him, winking at him when nobody else was looking. Toby narrowed his eyes. He knew what she was doing. Elena, oblivious, turned to Toby and started pulling him in another direction. That left Elowen and Esmeralda. They left, too.

Elsewhere, two students were walking to their car as they were leaving the party.

"Hey, what was going on back there with the police?" The boy asked. His girlfriend shrugged.

"Some maintenance man had a heart attack. He just dropped dead." She got in the car and waited for her boyfriend, but he never got in. Confused, she looked through the rearview mirror.

"Eddie?"

Eddie's body fell onto the windshield with a loud crash. The girl screamed and rushed out of the car, but Rose was already there waiting for her. She sped forward and bit into her neck. Eliana and Sydney arrived and Sydney stopped short at the sight of the two dead bodies. Eliana couldn't let it affect her and quickly cast the spell. Rose fell to the ground almost immediately. It only took a few seconds, but Rose had seemingly gone back to normal.

"Who are you people?" She asked through the pain. "Where's Damon?"

Eliana lifted the spell when it was apparent that she wasn't going to try and kill them. She tentatively walked over and crouched down to her level.

"We're friends of Damon's. We're here to help."

Rose looked over at the dead girl's body and started to cry. "Did I do this? I never meant to hurt anyone."

"I know."

Damon showed up moments later. He glanced at the two bodies, but chose to ignore them and got down to Rose's level.

"Come on, let's get you home."

"No, I don't have a home!" Rose sobbed. "I haven't had a home in so long." She started to cry harder. "Oh, make it stop! Please, make it stop! I hate it, make it stop!"

Damon simply picked her up in his arms and stood. Eliana did the same and made room for him to leave with her. She put her hand on Sydney's shoulder, who had been staring at the bodies the whole time.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly. Sydney nodded and tried to smile.

"Yeah."

"We need to go before someone finds us."

Sydney only nodded her head and then they followed after Damon.

**xxxx**

Rose and Damon were back at the boarding house. Esmeralda, Eliana and Sydney had gone back to Elowen's house while Toby escorted Elena back home (Elowen had been the one to suggest it). Elowen, on the other hand, was slowly making her way through the house up to Damon's room.

"Hi there." Damon greeted nonchalantly as he entered his bedroom. Rose was laying in his bed, covered in sweat. Her skin was sickly pale and there were large bags under her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Rose mumbled.

"You went on a murderous rampage. It happens."

Elowen finally made it to Damon's room. Rose spotted her first.

"I'm sorry, Elowen. I don't like taking human life. I never have."

Damon looked over his shoulder at Elowen. "You shouldn't be here," he told her, annoyed.

"I know," Elowen replied. "I just wanted to make sure Rose was okay and then I was going to leave."

"It's the worst part about it," Rose continued talking. "The hunt, the need to kill, the thirst, the pleasure it brings you afterwards. I wasn't meant to be evil. It hurts."

"Stop talking about it," Damon chided.

"Damon's a lot like me. He wants to care, but when he does, he runs away from it. You're the reason he's starting to let his humanity come back. You're the one thing he can't run away from. Please, for me, don't let him go, because it'll crush him if you do." She paused. "I'm sorry for what I've done today."

"I know," Elowen responded.

"And you need to figure out a way to fight. I know you're scared about what will happen if Klaus takes you, but you have to do it anyway." Rose was sent into a fit of coughs. Elowen came closer to the bed and sat on the edge.

"Why are you so nice to me?"

Elowen laughed softly. "Us humans."

"You can never forget it, what it's like to be human. It haunts me. It's the only thing that's kept me going. It doesn't hurt as much anymore."

Suddenly, a wave of pain hit Rose and she started to scream. Elowen got off of the bed and took a step back. She turned to Damon.

"You've got this, right?"

Damon nodded. "Go."

"You know you've got to…"

"I know. Now go."

With one last glance, Elowen left, her heart heavy. She knew what Damon was going to do and she definitely didn't want to be there when it happened.

**xxxx**

Sydney was sitting at the dinner table, a cup of tea in her hands, but she was just staring at the table, unmoving. Eliana came over and sighed. She took a seat across from her.

"Are you okay?" She asked her again. She knew she was lying earlier when she said she was fine. Sydney jumped slightly at the sound of her voice, but forced a smile on her face anyway.

"Of course I am."

"No, you're not. You don't have to lie to me." Eliana sighed and placed her hands over Sydney's. "This is why I suggested you stayed here. In theory it sounds fine, but to actually experience it is a whole other ball game."

Sydney looked down. "You were right. I should've stayed." She looked like she had more to say and Eliana waited patiently for her to speak. Her eyes started to water. "It's just, seeing those bodies, it was like a slap to the face that this world is real. It's serious, not some fun play thing you can dabble in."

Eliana had to work up the courage to ask her next question. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer. "Are you sure you can do this? Be with me, I mean, and all the supernatural baggage that comes with it? Because you know the real weight of this now and I'd understand if you couldn't do it."

It took Sydney a long moment to answer. Eliana waited with a bated breath. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she waited to Sydney to answer. In the end, Sydney nodded her head.

"I can do it. I'm willing to stay, because I love you so much that it hurts and nothing could ever get in the way of that. Not even this. I love you, Eliana, and I always will."

Eliana let out a sigh of relief. "God, you had me worried there for a second."

Sydney let out a small laugh. "It's a lot to take in and think about. But, I'm prepared to learn the ropes with your assistance."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it."

Eliana leaned over the table and kissed Sydney.

"Okay, lovebirds, that's enough." Esmeralda walked into the kitchen with a knowing smile. "I'm ordering in for dinner. What should we get?"

**xxxx**

Elena stopped in front of her door. Toby was standing just behind her. He was beyond nervous. Elowen had only told him that Elena said he 'seemed nice', which wasn't much to go on. Still, he decided he was going to ask her out anyway. He cleared his throat to gain her attention.

"Uhh…" He started awkwardly. "So, I know we don't know each other that well, but I'd really like to get to know you. If you're open to it, would you maybe like to get lunch sometime?"

Elena looked over in surprise. It must've read quite obvious on her face, because Toby started to step away.

"Look, nevermind. Forget I even asked-"

"Wait! Sorry, it's just, you're right, I barely know you and I just wasn't expecting you to ask. Um," Elena pushed some of her head behind her ear, "yeah, I'd like that. Lunch, I mean."

A smile broke out on Toby's face. "Yeah?"

Elena nodded, also smiling. "Yeah."

"Okay, great, um, The Grill, tomorrow, let's say noon?"

Elena nodded again.

"It's a date." Toby pointed behind him. "I'll get going now. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

**xxxx**

"Who would have thought you'd be a nice guy?" Rose asked. Damon was laying in the bed with her, Rose settled in his arms.

"I'm not nice. I'm mean. I like it."

"You're lying."

"Shh, just sleep. Just sleep."

Rose fell asleep and Damon took it as an opportunity to get inside her head. In the dream, Rose had longer hair and she was wearing a dress. She was walking through a paddock with horses. She ran through the field and came to sit next to Damon.

"This was my favorite place to come as a girl. How did you know?"

"Word gets around," Damon replied. He shrugged. "You told Elowen and Elena."

"Am I dreaming?"

Damon shrugged again. Rose closed her eyes and breathed in the air.

"The sun is so warm. I miss this. I miss being human."

"Humanity is not all it's cracked up to be."

Rose opened her eyes. "I had friends, I had a family. I mattered."

"You still do."

Rose shook her head. "No, but you do. You built a life with Elowen, whether you want to admit it or not. I spent 500 years just existing."

"You didn't have a choice. You were running from Klaus."

"There's always a choice."

"Y'know, you're ruining a perfect day with your strange philosophical babbling."

Rose leaned over and wrapped her arms around Damon.

"I'd like to enjoy the fresh air. Would you enjoy it with me?"

"For awhile."

Damon shifted positions so he was holding her in his arms. He grabbed her hands and interlocked their fingers together.

"Thank you," Rose said after a moment.

"For what?"

"The pain's gone."

"I'm glad."

"... Will I see them again? My family?"

"I think you'll see whoever you want to see."

"That would be nice. Maybe I'll see Trevor, too. I'm not afraid anymore."

Outside of the dream, in reality, Damon pulled a stake out and positioned it over Rose's heart. A lone tear fell down his face while he did it.

Back in the dream, Rose stood up from Damon's embrace.

"I'll race you to the trees."

"Well, you'll lose."

"I'm older and faster."

"Oh, you think?" Damon got up from the ground as well. "Well, I'm controlling this dream. Maybe I'll cheat."

"On the count of three. One, two…"

On three, Damon drove the stake through her heart. Her skin started to turn grey and then, she was dead. Damon let the tears flow and he started to cry. Damn humanity.

**xxxx**

Damon opened the trunk of his car as Sheriff Forbes met up with him.

"Here's your vampire."

Rose's dead body was lying in the trunk. Sheriff Forbes looked on his surprise.

"How did you find her?"

"It doesn't matter," Damon replied shortly. Sheriff Forbes didn't seem to notice. "What matters is that it's over."

"Thank you, Damon. Once again, you've helped keep this town safe."

"I'll take care of burying the body."

He closed the trunk.

**xxxx**

Toby found himself sitting across from Jules at The Grill and next to Tyler. Truth be told, Toby was actually kind of pissed off at her about Rose. He was only here because Tyler asked him to be. Jules immediately picked up on Toby's anger and wasn't quite sure what he was angry about.

"Thank you for coming," she told the both of them.

"So, what do you want from me? From us?" Tyler asked.

"Just to be your friend. Toby knows me already. Mason would've wanted that. I'm assuming Toby's told you?"

"Told me what?"

Jules looked at Toby, who only simply stared back. "I know you're a werewolf and I know your little friend Caroline is a vampire."

Tyler looked slightly alarmed. "How do you know about Caroline?"

"... You mean you can't sniff them out?" Jules questioned. Toby mentally cursed. Damn it. She really was ruining everything, wasn't she? Tyler didn't answer.

"Oh my god," Jules breathed. "You're brand new. How many times have you turned?"

"Last night was his first," Toby answered when Tyler didn't. Jules leaned over and placed her hand on Tyler's.

"Hey, I can help you."

Tyler, feeling uncomfortable, took his hands off of the table. "I don't need your help. I have Toby. Look, do you know where Mason is?"

"He's dead, Tyler. He was murdered."

Toby felt his heartbeat spike. No.

"You wanna know who murdered him?" Jules asked rhetorically. "Your little blonde vampire did."

"No, Caroline would never do this." Tyler shook his head. Toby had to say something before this got even worse than it already was.

"Caroline is a newbie," he interjected quickly. "Why would she have a reason to kill Mason?"

Jules sat back in her seat, shaking her head. "I can't believe you're covering for them. I know you've smelled them out by now. You were always good at that."

"'Them'?" Tyler asked. "Who's them?"

"Do you want to tell him, or should I?"

When Toby refused to answer, Jules took the pleasure. "This town is crawling with vampires, Tyler. But don't worry, we'll get them."

"They're good people, Jules. And you _killed_ one of them. She was an innocent woman."

Jules scoffed. "She wasn't the one I meant to kill. And vampires aren't innocent."

"And you are? Caroline was just protecting her friends."

"Are you sure you really know these people, Toby?" Jules leaned forward again. "One of them is particularly…. Well, he's an ass. He'll be the hardest to get rid of."

"I know which one you're talking about. He's the one you meant to bite, isn't he? He was only doing it to protect the people he cares about, Jules. You're far more alike to him that you want to admit. You would've done the same thing. You're not getting rid of anybody."

"Who are you talking about?" Tyler questioned hopelessly. He felt so out of the loop. Toby and Jules ignored him.

"It's too late, because I've already called the whole pack here."

"You called the _whole pack_?" Toby scoffed. "Good luck, Jules. They've got witches on their side and, well, me, because there's someone I care about who cares about them, which means I'm willing to fight for them. This is a battle you're going to lose."

Jules crossed her arms, but before she could say anything, Tyler asked a question that felt like a sucker punch to the gut.

"Wait… you didn't seem surprised when Jules said Mason was dead. Is that true? Did you know?"

Jules was staring at him in mock anticipation. He wanted nothing more than to smack her across the face.

"... He tried to kill somebody. Somebody human." Toby didn't elaborate as he stood up. "She almost died. He messed with the wrong group of people, which is where you'll end up if you go through with this. Back down, Jules."

"You're not alpha, Toby. Mason was. And now that he's dead, that makes me next in line." Jules stood up as well, standing close to Toby. "And, as far as I'm aware, you've betrayed us. You better watch your back."

"And you better watch yours." Toby looked down at Tyler. "Choose wisely, Ty."

Then, he left.

**xxxx**

Elowen didn't even make it halfway home before Toby called her and filled her in one what happened at The Grill. It was enough to make her u-turn and go back.

"You were supposed to leave," Damon remarked as she entered the boarding house. He'd heard her pull up.

"I did, but then Toby called me and told me something that's worth telling you and since Stefan's not back…"

"I'll have to do. What's up?"

"Toby said Jules has called her entire pack from Florida to Mystic Falls. They're planning on taking you down because you killed Mason."

Damon snorted as he took a sip from his drink. "Well, they'll lose."

"Toby said that's what he said, but Jules isn't giving it up."

"That mutt was defending _me_? I'm the one who killed his dad."

"Maybe, but he cares about me too much to let anything happen to you."

"Are you sure he isn't still in love with you?"

Elowen blinked. She started to shake her head. "Toby and I were never in love. We only dated out of peer pressure. He was my best friend."

"Just because you never loved him doesn't mean he never loved you."

Those words hit Elowen like a ton of bricks. She never stopped to think about it that way. She'd known Toby since 1st grade. He was her best friend. He was her only friend. That's how she'd always seen him, even when they were dating. A friend. She had to shake her head again to clear her thoughts.

"Even if he did, he just asked Elena out and it's been years since we were together. He has to have moved on by now." She sighed. "... Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

There he went, playing dumb, not wanting to face the situation. He was awfully good at that. Although, she guessed she was one to talk.

"You know what I'm talking about."

"What do you want to hear, Elowen? That I cared about Rose? That I'm upset? Well, I didn't and I'm not."

"If that's what you want to tell yourself so you'll feel better, then okay. But we both know that isn't true." Elowen sighed and started for the door.

"Thanks to you, I feel things again," Damon spoke up when she reached the door. Her hand was on the knob when he said something. "Rose was right. Because of you, I'm letting my humanity come back. And it sucks, big time. What sucks even more is that it was supposed to be me. Jules was coming after me."

Elowen turned back around to face him. "You feel guilty."

"Yes, Wen. Yes, I feel guilty. It's so _human_ of me and I _hate_ it. I hate what you've done to me and I hate that I let you. What I hate the most, though, is that I'm not upset about it. The problem? The problem is, when people see good, they expect good. And I'm not good. It's easier for people to hate me than to let them down."

Elowen started making her way back towards Damon. "But this means you can feel all the nice things that come with emotion. Happiness. Joy. Love." She stopped just in front of him. "That's the greatest emotion of all, isn't it? Love." She carefully took the glass out of his hand and placed it on the nearby table.

"Look at me," she said gently. She didn't say anything until Damon looked at her. "You can feel guilty and you're allowed to mourn. This is what comes with emotion. So, let yourself mourn. It's okay."

Damon hated that he actually started to cry in front of Elowen. He hated crying. He hated feeling so vulnerable. This wasn't his M.O. Still, Elowen didn't judge. In fact, she did the exact opposite. She embraced him and let him sob into her shoulder without another word.

**xxxx**

Later, Elowen left Damon alone, as much as she didn't want to, because Stefan finally called her and asked her to meet him at Elena's house.

Elena had answered the door and let her in.

"Is Stefan here yet?" She asked. Elena shook her head.

"No, but he told me he was on his way. Um.." She looked down at her hands as the two of them walked towards the kitchen. "Toby asked me out earlier."

"I know. He told me on the phone a few hours ago. I think he really likes you."

A blush slowly made its way onto Elena's cheeks. "Oh. Uh, I just thought I ought to tell you, because I know you're friends."

"Thanks for thinking of me."

There was a knock at the door. Both Elena and Elowen started in that direction, assuming it was Stefan. It was.

"Hey," he greeted when they opened the door. "Rose?"

Elowen shook her head. "She didn't make it."

Stefan sighed and cleared his throat. "So, I called Isobel."

"We know. Did you find her?"

"Not exactly," another voice from behind Stefan rang out. He stepped to the side to reveal John. "Hello, Elena."

Elena and Elowen stared in shock.

**xxxx**

After Elowen left, Damon got drunk. Really drunk. Or at least, as drunk as he could get for a vampire. Now, he was lying in the street in the middle of nowhere. After what felt like ages, a car finally drove down the road and came to a stop when they noticed him. The driver hopped out and rushed over to him.

"Sir, are you okay?" She asked frantically. "What happened?"

"I'm… lost."

"And you're laying in the middle of the road?"

"Not that kind of lost." Damon sat up. "Metaphorically, existentially."

"Do you need help?"

"Well, yes, I do. Can you help me?" Damon took a flask from his pocket and took a drink. The woman's demeanor changed when she realized he had been drinking.

"You're drunk."

"No. Well, yes, a little. Maybe."

The woman shook her head and started to walk back towards her car.

"No, please don't leave. I really do need help." He used his speed to stand in front of her and started to compel her. "Don't move."

"I don't want any trouble."

"Neither do I, but all I've got is trouble."

The woman tried to move, but found that she couldn't. "Why can't I move?" She asked. Damon took another swig from the flash and then placed his hands on her shoulders.

"What's your name?"

"Jessica."

"Hi, Jessica. I have a secret. I have a big one that I can't even tell my girlfriend and I've never said it out loud before. I mean, what's the point? It's not gonna change anything. It's not gonna make me good, make me adopt a puppy. I can't be what other people want me to be, what _she_ wants me to be. She knows that I don't do well with expectations. I hate expectations. This is who I am, Jessica."

"Are you gonna hurt me?"

"I'm not sure, because you are my existential crisis. Do I kill you or do I not kill you?"

"Please don't."

"It would really disappoint my girlfriend if I did. She'd say that I've come too far to fall back into old habits and that I'm running away from it all and y'know what? She'd be right. I told her that I was starting to feel again because of her and it's the truth. And I hate it. I hate it because I'm not human and I miss it. I miss it more than anything in the world! That is my secret, but there is only so much hurt a man can take."

Jessica sobbed from her spot. "Please, don't hurt me."

For a split second, Elowen's face flashed in his mind and his shoulders slumped. "Okay. You're free to go."

Jessica started to run towards her car, but Damon changed his mind last minute and sped in front of her. He roughly grabbed her hair and bit into her neck.

She fell to the ground, dead, leaving Damon standing there on his own.


	25. Chapter 25

_Damon was standing in front of a woman, his hands placed on her shoulders._

_"What's your name?" He asked._

_"Jessica," the woman replied with a shaky voice._

_The scene of the premonition changed, showing Jessica running past Damon towards her car, when Damon sped in front of her, grabbed her hair and roughly bit into her neck._

Elowen woke up with a gasp, her hand flying up to grab her neck. When she pulled it back, she was expecting it to be covered in blood, but found that nothing was wrong. She swallowed hard, trying to catch her breath, before scowling, pulling the covers off of herself and getting up so she could find Damon, and then figure out what to do next.

**xxxx**

Caroline was leaving her house to meet Josiah. She locked the door, turned around and found Tyler waiting by her car. It took her by surprise, but she recovered quickly.

"Hey. How's it going?"

"We need to talk."

Caroline made her way off of the patio and over to Tyler, confused. What could they possibly have to talk about?

"Okaaaaay. What did you want to talk about?"

Tyler put his hands in his pockets. "What happened to my uncle Mason?"

"... What?"

"He's dead and I want you to tell me what happened."

Caroline froze. How did he know that?

"I… I don't…"

"Then let me tell you: Stefan and his brother, Damon, killed him, because Stefan and Damon are vampires just like you."

"Who told you that?"

"Is it true?"

"Let me explain," Caroline said quickly, but Tyler wasn't having any of it.

"Did you know he was dead this whole time? Because Toby did. He admitted it last night. He said he tried to kill somebody and it's why he was murdered."

"... It was Elowen," Caroline confessed quietly. Tyler faltered for a moment. "He convinced some bad people that she was a vampire and they shot her. She almost bled to death. If it weren't for me and Damon, she would be dead right now. Believe me when I say it was her that kept Damon at bay, but once this happened, he was free game. Nobody could stop him."

"So you knew? This whole time?" Tyler asked angrily.

"I'm sorry, Tyler. I'm sorry."

"I trusted you! I trusted Josiah and I trusted Toby and all of you have been lying to me this whole time!" He caught his breath. "I trusted you," he said again, much quieter. He shook his head and left, leaving Caroline stunned.

**xxx**

Stefan and Damon were standing in Stefan's room. Stefan was telling Damon how he found John instead of Isobel.

"You brought back John Gilbert?!" Damon asked with wide eyes. "That was your big, 'Save Elena and Elowen' move?"

"I went to go look for Isobel and I got John instead." Stefan shrugged. "He said he can help us and we're desperate."

"We're not that desperate, Stefan. The guy tried to barbecue me!"

At that moment, Elowen entered the room, walked up to Damon and slapped him across the face. Stefan grimaced at the sight and Damon's hand came up to rub his cheek where she hit him.

"Uh, _ow_. The hell was that for?"

Elowen crossed her arms. "Does the name Jessica ring any bells?"

Damon froze momentarily, choosing to stare down at Elowen like he'd just been caught. Elowen scoffed.

"God, Damon! Every time I think you've made improvement, you take one step forward and two steps back. I can't date someone who just refuses to make any kind of change whatsoever, so you know what? I'm done."

"Wen, wait-"

Damon tried to reach out for her, but she pulled her arm away.

"Don't touch me."

"Elowen, hang on," Stefan cut in. "I'm not really sure what's happening, but I think you need to hear this. Bonnie's new witch friend is working with Elijah, so we have to assume that the moonstone was never destroyed."

Elowen sighed. "I have the moonstone. It's safe in my house. Nobody knows it's there but us."

"Okay, good. That's great, actually. Elena is putting all of her faith into some deal that she made with Elijah to keep everyone safe. I mean, do you trust Elijah?"

When Stefan asked her, Elowen stayed quiet. Part of her _did_ trust him. She was still waiting for him to contact her so they could talk about Marisol. It was killing her to not know something for once.

"I don't trust him," Stefan continued to say. "He's an Original, he can't be trusted. It's not like we can just go up and kill him, because apparently, he can't die!"

"I'm still waiting for the part where _John Gilbert_ is the answer," Damon drawled, finally taking his eyes off of Elowen.

"He knew about the sacrifice," Stefan explained as if it were obvious. "Isobel told him. He said he knew of a way to keep Elena safe."

"Right, _Elena_. What about Elowen, huh? This whole time we've been grabbing at nothing trying to figure out how to keep her from being kidnapped."

"If we keep Elena safe, Klaus will never know she's here, which means he'll never know about Elowen. It's got to work, because it's all I've got right now."

"And how do we keep Elena safe, then?"

"John's not talking. At least not to me anyway."

"Great work, Stefan," Damon sarcastically quipped. "Top notch. As if I didn't have enough problems."

Damon made to leave when Stefan spoke up again.

"Hey, I'm sorry about Rose."

Elowen made a cutting motion across her neck from behind Damon, shaking her head. Probably not the best idea to mention Rose. Damon scoffed.

"Whatever. I knew the woman for five minutes."

He caught Elowen's eye and quickly looked away. He knew she knew that that wasn't the case. She shot him a sympathetic look, despite currently being mad at him.

"And you cared about her after five minutes. I wonder what that means?"

Damon stopped and turned around. "It means I care, Stefan. It means I'm changing, evolving into a man capable of greatness. Better watch your back, because I may just have to go get a hero hairdo of my own and steal your thunder."

As Damon finally left, Stefan turned to Elowen.

"Want to talk about whatever you barged in here to slap Damon for?"

Elowen sighed deeply and walked over to Stefan's bed to plop down on it.

"I had this premonition last night where he killed this woman named Jessica." She paused. "I thought he was done with this crap, leaving a trail of bodies."

"One woman isn't exactly a trail of bodies."

At Elowen's glare, Stefan retracted the statement.

"I just mean that maybe this was a one time thing, you know? I'm in no way defending him, but maybe this was just a small slip up."

"A small slip up that cost an innocent woman her life. Look, Stefan, I don't really wanna talk about this. I'm not going to surround myself with someone who doesn't wanna change, and that's clearly what Damon is."

Stefan's phone buzzed, interrupting their conversation. Elowen looked over his shoulder to read it. It was from Caroline.

_911 NOW_.

**xxxx**

Caroline let Elowen and Stefan in when they arrived at her house.

"What's wrong?" Elowen asked immediately.

"Tyler knows about Stefan and Damon. He knows that Damon killed Mason. I didn't say a word other than the fact that he tried to kill Elowen and that's why he died, but only because he confronted me this morning and I didn't know what else to say."

"It's that woman, Jules," Stefan said. "She had a run in with Damon."

"Tyler was so upset. The look on his face, he was so betrayed."

"Wow, this is bad."

"You're not gonna tell Damon, are you?" Caroline asked worriedly.

"No! He already wants to kill him. He thinks all werewolves should die. It's a miracle he hasn't touched a hair on Toby's head."

"You know why he hasn't hurt him," Elowen cut in. It was the most obvious thing in the room. Stefan sighed, but continued anyway.

"I mean, he's not wrong to think that, Caroline. What if Tyler tries to retaliate? He has every right to. I don't think Toby could stop him even if he wanted to. He could get himself killed."

"Well, we're not gonna let that happen," Caroline said quickly. "We have to get to him and reason with him before he does anything stupid. You have to talk to him. Just try to explain, y'know? You always know the right things to say, okay? He and I… we're friends."

Elowen sighed and gave in. "I'll give Toby a call, see if he's willing to help."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Caroline stepped forward and hugged Elowen tightly. "Good luck."

**xxxx**

"What the hell are you doing here?" Toby asked seethingly when he saw Jules sitting on the couch in Richard's study.

"I came to see Tyler," she responded. "This doesn't concern you. Leave."

"You're an unwelcome guest, Jules. _You_ need to leave."

"What do you want?" Tyler stepped in. "What do you _really_ want? You blow into town, turn everything upside down and then just expect me to trust you?"

"I want you to understand that a vampire will never be your friend. It's our nature to be enemies."

"You know how stupid that sounds?"

"It's a bunch of bullshit," Toby spat. He was still glaring at Jules. "Not one vampire we came across was the instigator. It was always Brady."

"Brady?" Tyler questioned. "Who's Brady?"

"Her stupid boyfriend. Him and I never got along."

Jules clenched her jaw, but didn't say anything. Instead, she turned to Tyler. "You need to leave here. It's not safe."

"I can't just run away with you." Tyler shook his head. "I don't even know you. My mom would freak. My life is here."

"Your old life. You new life is just beginning. You have so much to learn."

"Toby can teach me," Tyler said immediately. Jules scoffed and shook her head.

"You mean you still trust him? After he lied to you?"

"I trust him more than I trust you. He may have lied, but he's still the one who's helped me through all of this, not you. I _know_ him. He's family. You're just a stranger."

Jules looked between Tyler and Toby. Finally, she stood up. "Fine. Let me know when you're ready to put your loyalty in someone who won't betray you."

Once she was gone, Tyler and Toby sat there in silence. After a few moments, Toby started to leave the room.

"I wanna make one thing clear," Tyler started before Toby was gone. "I've lost my faith in you, but you _are_ family. I've just got to ask. Why are you siding with them? You said there was someone you cared about who cared about them."

Toby sighed and turned back around. "Elowen," he replied. "I… I used to be in love with her, once upon a time." It felt weird saying those words, because he'd never said it out loud before, let alone admit it to himself. "I'm not anymore, but she still used to be my best friend and I would do anything I could to protect her. I know she would do the same. Besides, I never agreed with Jules and Brady's morals. I don't think dad did, either, but he was so desperate to be around people who were like him." He paused. "Look, I'll respect whatever decision you make, but please be careful."

**xxxx**

Elowen had called Toby to tell him Stefan was going to swing by to talk to Tyler. He'd told her that he'd let him in and try to help if he could. He was still keeping his eye on the clock, because he was supposed to meet Elena at The Grill at noon and he was worried he might not make it. The last thing he wanted to do was stand her up.

Toby had let Stefan in through the back. Carol was still home and he wanted to make sure she wouldn't find out. Which is why they were standing behind Tyler, who was still in Richard's office, on the laptop. Tyler must've finally sensed them, because he turned around in his seat, spotted them and then tried to leave. Stefan quickly stopped him.

"I'm not gonna hurt you. I just want to talk."

"Then why did you break in?"

"I didn't. Toby let me in."

Carol chose that exact moment to come downstairs. She was getting ready to leave.

"Tyler?" She called out. "Toby?"

Tyler tried to make a run for it, but Stefan stopped him and pushed him against the wall. He covered his mouth so he couldn't say anything.

"Shh. Not a word."

"Tyler?" Carol tried again. "I'm leaving for the memorial." She waited for an answer, but she when didn't, she shrugged and left. Stefan released Tyler and uncovered his mouth.

"Maybe we're getting off on the wrong foot here," Stefan said.

"What happened to Mason?"

"Tyler, there's a lot for us to talk about."

Tyler tried to leave again, but this time Toby grabbed him.

"I told you earlier to be careful. Without a full moon, you're no match for him. Just hear him out. You can trust this one. Caroline, too."

"And Damon?"

"He has his flaws, but deep down, he means well. Please, Tyler. Just this once."

Tyler swallowed, but stepped back into the room.

"Okay. Talk."

**xxxx**

Esmeralda and Alaric were sitting with Jenna at The Grill. They were eating lunch while Jenna complained about John being back in town.

"I can't believe it. Elena is my sister's husband's brother's daughter and her mother is my friend's deceased wife. You can't make this stuff up."

"It's definitely a little overwhelming," Esmeralda said.

"I can't believe that they kept it a secret. How is it even possibly to keep a secret like that?"

John happened to enter The Grill at that moment and Jenna noticed him immediately.

"Ugh!"

John walked over to them and stopped in front of their table.

"Hey, you guys. Do you think I can join you?"

Jenna had picked up her menu and pretended to look at it so she could try to ignore John. It didn't work.

"Do you have to?" She grumbled.

"I guess I don't have to, but I might as well. Oh, look who's here." John had turned his head and noticed Damon and Elena enter.

"We just need answers," Elena told Damon quietly. "Please don't do anything stupid."

"Yeah, but stupid is so much more fun."

"Damon, I mean it. All I'm asking is that you try to keep it together. Be the better man. It's what Elowen would want."

Damon paused and a distant look came over his face as he remember the way Elowen looked at him earlier in the morning, after she slapped him. Obviously, she was mad at him, and she had every right to be. After a moment, Damon looked down at Elena and shrugged.

"Okay then."

Damon went to join John and smiled to seem friendly. "John, buddy, how've you been?"

"I've been alright, Damon. It's good to see you," John replied.

**xxxx**

"Look, about Caroline," Stefan was saying to Tyler. "No matter what her flaws are, when push comes to shove, you're gonna want that girl on your side. She's your friend. Stop being a dick to her."

"I thought vampires hated werewolves?" Tyler asked.

"That's some sort of leftover idea from another time," Toby cut in. "It doesn't have to be that way anymore. You go to the same school, you have the same friends, you have the same secrets. This can work, Tyler. I mean, it's your home. It's his home, too, and I guess now it's my home as well. I really want this to work."

Tyler's phone started to ring. They all stared at each other for a moment before Tyler managed to slip past them both and answer it.

"Help, help!" He cried into the phone before Stefan grabbed it and ended the call.

"Who's number what that, huh?"

"Jules," Toby sneered when saw the number on the screen. "Damn it, Tyler! You said you would hear us out. We're trying to save your life, can't you see that?"

**xxxx**

"So, John, rumor has it that you know _a lot_ and won't say anything."

John had been lighting a candle for the victims that had been lost when Damon joined him again.

"How do I know you can be trusted, Damon?" John asked. "Originals can compel vampires and according to Stefan, that's why Katherine is still in the tomb, because an Original has compelled her to stay there."

"Only because the vervain has left her system. Stefan and I, on the other hand, are chock full."

While Damon had initially thought the idea was stupid, he'd come to the realization that Elowen and Stefan were right and gave in. Not the most pleasant feeling, but he knew it would pay off in the end.

"You guys are drinking vervain?" John questioned in surprise. Damon shrugged.

"It's an acquired taste. I don't see that little ring on your stitched finger, so if you know something about Klaus, you better start talking, or I will kill you in your sleep."

"Is that any way to convince me that you and I are on the same side? First, I need to know that I can trust you, Damon, that I can count on you. Then we'll talk."

Meanwhile, Caroline was approaching her car in the parking lot. She was supposed to meet Josiah at his house ages ago, but had gotten distracted by the whole Tyler thing. She made it to her car, but turned around when she sensed somebody behind her. It was Jules.

"Excuse me. Caroline, right?"

"Yeah," Caroline answered warily.

"I'm looking for Tyler. You haven't seen him, have you?"

"No, not since earlier. Sorry."

Caroline opened her car door and moved to get in when Jules said something again.

"I know you're lying."

"Really? How? Is that one of your little wolf tricks?"

"Actually, it is."

"Well, I have a trick, too."

Caroline vamped out and turned around, hissing, but Jules, unfazed, sprayed her with vervain spray. Caroline yelled in pain and fell against her car. She healed quickly, but when she turned around again, Jules was gone and instead another man was standing there. He shot her point blank in between the eyes and she dropped to the ground, dead.

**xxxx**

_Caroline woke up inside a cage in somebody's RV. The bullet wound hadn't healed because the bullet was still in her forehead. She braced herself and pulled it out with a small scream. It started to heal as she tried to unlock the cage, but saw the man who shot her and stopped._

"_I see you got the bullet out," he said. "That was nasty. I got lots of wooden bullets, other toys. It's gonna be a long night, sweetpea."_

_He shot her in the chest and she screamed._

"Caroline," Elowen said. She had stopped in the middle of the living room, where she had been watching tv with Josiah and Sydney when the premonition came on. Josiah sat up quickly at this. Caroline was supposed to be here hours ago so they could have a family movie day. He was starting to get worried. Sydney looked at them both in confusion. She had never really gotten the hang of Elowen's power, especially since Eliana had sort of shielded her from the supernatural world.

"What?" She asked. "What's wrong? Who's Caroline?"

Except Elowen didn't answer her. She hastily left the room, grabbed her phone and car keys and sailed towards the door. Josiah was on his feet in seconds.

"I'm coming with."

"Wait! Who's Caroline?" Sydney asked again. She'd also stood up and by now Eliana and Esmeralda had entered the room from the kitchen. Binx had followed

"My girlfriend," Josiah finally answered as Elowen threw the door open.

"She's in danger," Elowen elaborated. "We've gotta go."

"You better be careful," Esmeralda told them as they exited the house. "And keep me updated!"

"Got it!"

"Will do!"

Were Elowen and Josiah's respective replies before they closed the door and left.

**xxxx**

"You want to be friends, great, we're friends," Tyler said to Stefan. "Will you go now?"

"I don't know what else to say to you, Tyler. I came back to this town because I wanted a life. I wanted to exist where I could have friends and where I could build a family. I have that here. We can both have that."

Before Tyler or Toby could say anything, the front door blew open and Elowen and Josiah came bounding through and into Richard's study. Josiah roughly grabbed onto Tyler's shirt, pulled him up from his seat and rammed him against the wall.

"Where the hell is Caroline?"

"What?" Tyler fought against Josiah's grip, but his hold on him was too anger fueled for him to get him off. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"You're lying. Where is she?"

"What's going on?" Toby asked. Him and Stefan were wearing identical looks of worry and confusion.

"I had a premonition that someone kidnapped Caroline," Elowen explained. "I think it has something to do with Jules and her pack."

"What did they look like?" Toby asked quickly. He had a sinking feeling he knew who it was.

"Um, he had a shaved head and a kind of rugged look to him."

"Shit. That's Brady. This isn't good."

Stefan's phone rang and saw Caroline's name on the caller ID. He showed the phone to everyone in the room so they knew who it was and put it on speaker.

"Hey. Is everything okay? Where are you?"

"That depends," Jules's phone rang out instead of Caroline's. "How badly do you want to keep her alive?"

"Who is this?"

"Ask your brother. Where's Tyler?"

"Jules? Where's Caroline?"

"You made a mistake, Stefan. I'm gonna give you a chance to fix it."

"Where is she?"

"Right here. Want proof?"

There was silence on the other line for a few seconds before Caroline's screams could be heard through the phone. Josiah's grip tightened on Tyler at the sound of her in pain. Even Tyler's face contorted.

"Hurt her again and you're dead."

"I hurt her again and _she's_ dead. Bring Tyler to me, the clearing by Wickery Falls. You have 20 minutes until she dies."

Jules hung up. The room was deadly quiet for a few moments. Finally, Tyler broke it.

"I had no idea, I swear-"

Josiah pulled his fist back and punched Tyler in the face. Toby ran forward to hold him back.

"_That's_ the woman you want to put your trust in? Caroline is your friend!" Josiah yelled.

"That's enough," Stefan said. "We have to go save her."

"I'm coming with," Josiah replied immediately.

"No. I have an idea, but I need you to come with me." She turned to Stefan. "You call Damon and tell him what's happening. I need you two to hold them off for me."

"Can you tell him to tell Elena that I'm sorry?" Toby asked. "She'll know what I'm talking about."

Stefan nodded. "Got it. Now go."

Elowen had to drag Josiah with her while she called Bonnie on the phone.

"Bonnie? You know where Luka lives, right? Give me his address. Now."

**xxxx**

Elowen banged her fist against the apartment door. "Open up! I know you're in there, Luka! Open this damn door before-"

The door opened and revealed a man who definitely wasn't Luka.

"I'm Luka's father, Jonas. You must be Elowen. What seems to be the problem?"

"Elijah's deal said that he'd make sure nobody we cared about got hurt. Right now, one of our friends might die. It's time for you to uphold your end of the bargain."

Jonas nodded his head. "Very well. Let's go."

Elowen was on her phone in an instant as Jonas grabbed his coat.

"Mom? I need you and Eliana to meet us at Wickery Falls. Leave Sydney."

**xxxx**

Damon was at the bar at The Grill. Jenna reluctantly joined him. There was a woman with her, whom she tried to advise not to approach him, but she practically begged her to.

"So, my friend wants to meet you. Damon Salvatore, this is-"

"I know you. The news lady."

"Yeah, Andie Star. Nice to meet you. Can I buy you a drink, Damon?"

"My glass is full, Andie. Thank you."

Damon stood up and met up with Elena.

"You totally blew her off."

"Of course I did. I have a girlfriend, remember?"

Except Damon wasn't sure if this was still true. He wanted to talk to her, try to explain himself, but he wasn't sure she would hear him out. It gave him a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that this is how things would end.

"You didn't have to be so rude."

Damon's phone rang and he answered it when he saw it was Stefan.

"What?"

After the call was over, Damon had grabbed Elena and pulled her into the bathroom to fill her in.

"They have Caroline? Is she gonna be okay?"

"Why am I just finding out about this now?" Damon asked instead.

"Stefan was probably worried that you-"

"That I'll what? That I'd kill him? Of course, it what needs to happen."

"No, Damon, not Tyler. Do whatever you need to do to get Caroline back, but just leave Tyler out of it, okay?"

"Why? He's a werewolf. He needs to die. I'm willing to kill him. It's a win-win. Speaking of werewolves, Elowen's pet mutt said he's sorry, whatever that means."

Elena, of course, knew what it meant. She shook her head. "He can make it up to me later. Look, too many people are dead. Elowen would-"

"You need to stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Using Elowen's name to make me try and play the good guy role."

The door opened and John stepped into the bathroom.

"Do you mind?" Damon turned around to face him.

"What's going on?" John asked.

"Nothing," Elena said quickly.

"It doesn't look like nothing."

"Well, guess what, John, trust works both ways," Damon snipped. "Get out."

"Look, we don't have time for this," Elena intervened. "We need to get Caroline back."

"_We_ don't need to do anything. I'll take care of it. First dad duty: ground your daughter. Keep her here."

Damon left, but Elena tried to follow.

"I'm coming with you."

John stopped her. "No, no, no. I'm with Damon on this one." Elena tried to fight against his grip. "No, stop, stop. You're not going anywhere. Just tell me what's going on."

Elena refused but hoped to whatever god was out there that Caroline was going to be okay.


	26. Chapter 26

"So, how many vampires are there in this town anyway?" Brady asked Caroline. She was still trapped in the cage, crying. She didn't answer, so he shot her with a squirt gun filled with vervain. She screamed in pain.

"No?"

In response, Caroline kicked at the bars of the cage. "Why are you doing this to me?! Why are you doing this? Why?"

"You're a vampire." Brady shrugged. "Why not?" He used a blowgun to shoot wooden darts into her neck. Caroline screamed again.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Let me out!"

"Excuse me? What was that?"

Caroline kicked at the bars again. "Let me out!"

Brady left the trailer and met Jules outside.

"Get it out of your system?" She asked.

"No. I'm just getting started."

"Brady, let's be smart about this. I just want the boy. It's our duty to help him. It's who we are."

"You want to talk about duty and honor? These are vampires. They cross one of us, they cross all of us. That's who we are."

Brady had gone back into the trailer and left Jules outside. She stood there for a moment before she heard something out in the woods. Stefan came into view with Tyler.

"Where's Caroline?" He asked.

"Locked up tight," she replied.

"Let her go and I'll release Tyler. It doesn't have to get any messier than it already has. I'm not your enemy, Jules."

"It's a little late to be waving the white flag, don't you think?"

"You need to leave town. No one else has to get hurt."

"I'm not leaving without Tyler."

"Tyler is free to make his own decisions, as soon as you release Caroline."

Damon arrived on the scene, followed by Toby, who had Mason's old hunting knife tucked in the back of his jeans in case he needed to use it.

"My brother, the peacemaker. Since Stefan got here before me, I'm gonna let him try it his way before I resort to my way, which is a little bloodier. So give us Caroline."

"Let go of Tyler."

"Give us Caroline. Without a full moon, it's not an even fight and you know it."

"I'm not so sure about that, tough guy."

Jules whistled and the rest of her pack walked out of their hiding places, armed with multiple weapons such as stakes, crossbows and even a flame thrower.

"Let's try this again. Give us Tyler."

Damon looked at Tyler and nodded his head in her direction. "You heard her. Go. Get over there."

Tyler left Stefan and walked over to Jules.

"Which one of you killed Mason?" Brady asked.

"Uh, that'd be me," Damon announced, raising his hand.

"You're really siding with the man who killed your father?" Brady asked Toby in disbelief.

"He killed my father to protect a friend. It's complicated."

"You know he'll kill you the second he gets, right?"

"If he wanted me dead, I'd be dead already."

"He's right," Damon agreed. "I'm really good at following through on death threats. Want to find out?"

"Boys, make sure this one suffers," Brady told the rest of the pack loudly.

"We can take them," Damon told Stefan and Toby, who looked at each other with uncertainty.

"I don't know about that.

"Well, then…"

Damon zoomed over to Jules, who was ready and flipped onto the top of the RV. Tyler had ran inside and away from the battle. The wolf with the flamethrower tried to burn Stefan, but he sped behind him, wrapped his arms around his neck and used the flamethrower to burn two other wolves who tried to rush forward. Another werewolf attempted to jump from the RV roof and onto Damon, but he easily ripped his heart out midair.

Inside the trailer, Tyler saw Caroline in the cage, who got up and started to point to the lock on the cage.

"Tyler, there's a latch on the door and I can't get to it."

Tyler hesitated.

"Tyler?"

Back outside, Stefan broke the wolf who had the flamethrower's neck and let him drop to the ground. A different wolf with a crossbow fired a stake at Stefan, who caught it. Toby came up behind him and stabbed him with Mason's hunting knife. The wolf went down with a cry. He felt arms wrap around his throat and for a second, struggled against their grip before making a move and stomping on his attacker's foot. They let go and he used this momentum to elbow him in the face. Then, he twisted his arm around and with a swift movement, broke it. He kicked the man down onto the ground with the one he'd just stabbed.

Stefan and Toby shared a look and nodded at each other in understanding. Somebody with another crossbow came out of nowhere and tried to shoot a stake at Stefan, but he caught it again and threw it back at him. It sunk into his neck and he went down.

Inside the RV, Tyler continued to hesitate.

"Tyler, please!" Caroline begged. "Tyler?"

Finally, he walked towards the cage, unlatched the lock and opened the door so she could get out.

Outside again, Stefan had just stabbed somebody with a stake, but someone else came up behind him and drove a different stake into his back. Stefan fell onto the ground with a loud groan, but before the wolf could attack him any further, Toby snuck up and stabbed him with the hunting knife he still had.

Damon was fighting with Brady and he was winning until Jules arrived and shot him with a couple of wooden bullets. He also fell to the ground. Caroline finally made it outside, but Jules grabbed her, pushed her face first into the RV and help her at gunpoint. Tyler came out behind her, saw Jules holding the gun to her back, but he didn't do anything.

Toby started towards Jules, but she cocked the gun when she saw him walking her way.

"One more step and she's dead."

On the ground, Brady grabbed a lone stake that was next to him and was about to thrust it through Damon's chest when suddenly, all of the werewolves present except for Tyler and Toby started to scream in pain and all fell to their knees, covering their ears with their hands.

"What's happening?"

"What the hell is going on?"

Were Caroline and Tyler's respective questions.

Elowen, Josiah, Esmeralda, Jonas and Eliana all came into view, each of them chanting a spell under their breath. Stefan and Damon both got up from the ground. They all stopped the spell when it was obvious that all the werewolves were unconscious.

"Elijah made a promise to Elena," Jonas explained as everyone's confused stares. "I'm here to see that it's upheld. You need to go. Get out of here. Now."

Everyone else but Jonas started to leave. Toby stopped for a moment and turned back towards Tyler.

"You coming?"

When Tyler didn't move, Toby sighed, but nodded. He followed after Elowen, who wrapped her arm around his shoulders in comfort. Jonas looked Tyler dead in the eye.

"When your friends awaken, give them a message. They need to get the hell out of this town."

**xxxx**

Stefan, Josiah and Elowen were all walking Caroline up to her doorstep.

"Is your mom home?" Stefan asked when they reached the door.

"No, she's at work."

"We can all stay here with you, if you want," Elowen offered, but Caroline shook her head.

"I'm fine, you guys."

"If you think I'm leaving you alone after what happened tonight, you're wrong," Josiah stated as a matter of factly, making Caroline smile a little. "You don't have to pretend with us. Anybody would be upset after what you went through."

"I'm okay. I swear. I'm not girly little Caroline anymore. I can handle myself. Look, I just really wanna shower…"

Elowen nodded. "Okay. We'll leave you to it. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Stefan and Elowen left Caroline and Josiah alone as they entered the house and closed the door behind themselves.

**xxxx**

"Why are you here again?" Damon asked Toby, who was sitting in the living room.

"Because I'm covered in blood and if I go home looking like this, Carol would flip. Just gimme some clothes and I'll get out of your hair. I don't want to be here anymore than you want me to be."

Damon came to stop in front of Toby and handed him a drink. Toby looked at it for a moment before taking it and sipping on it.

"Y'know, you didn't have to come tonight."

"Yes, I did."

"Because of Elowen?"

"Tyler's my cousin. I'm still holding out that he'll make the right decision."

Damon poured himself his own drink and decided to stay standing.

"You can admit it."

"Admit what?"

"Admit that you're in love with her."

Toby set his drink down and shook his head. "I'm not in love with her. Not anymore."

"So you admit that you loved her."

"Loved. As in past tense."

"And you're _positive_ you don't still have feelings for her? She's quite the keeper."

"Why are you so bent on this? It's like you _want_ somebody else to be in love with your girlfriend."

Damon paused at the word 'girlfriend' for a moment, but opened his mouth again.

"I just want to make sure that you know you don't stand a chance anymore."

"Noted."

Another string of silence passed. Damon finished off his drink and went to pour himself another.

"_I guess_…. You've proved that you're worth not killing. Thanks for tonight, wolf boy."

Toby raised his glass and downed the rest of his drink. "Can I get some clothes now?"

Damon rolled his eyes, but started towards his room anyway. He came back with a fresh shirt and jeans and threw them at Toby.

"Now leave."

"Can I at least change first?"

"Whatever."

After Toby had changed, he headed for the door, except when he opened it, John Gilbert was standing on the other side.

"Oh. Damon, you've got company."

Damon walked to the door and groaned at the sight of John. "What do you want?"

"We didn't finish our conversation."

Damon shrugged.

"I'll bite."

Damon reluctantly let John in and Toby closed the door. He was curious what John was here for and decided to stick around. Damon noticed had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

"I've been thinking," John started to say. "Personal feelings aside, Damon, I think you and Stefan will do all you can to protect Elena."

"For the record, we're only doing it to protect Elowen. I don't know about Stefan, but I don't really care what happens to your daughter."

"Regardless, I come bearing gifts."

John set a piece of cloth on the table and unfolded it, revealing a silver dagger and a jar full of ash.

"What is that?"

"This is how you kill an Original. In this vial is ash from a white oak tree that dates back to the genesis of the Originals. The dagger must be dipped into the ash and then plunged into their heart."

Toby carefully took the dagger from John to inspect it. Damon eyed it suspiciously.

"How do you know all of this, John?" Damon asked.

"Isobel. She's very good at finding out things. But, of course, you know that."

"Where is Isobel, by the way?"

"Let's just say, if she accomplishes what she's attempting, Klaus will never step foot in Mystic Falls. Where Elena's concerned, you and I are on the same side."

**xxxx**

Elowen walked up to the front door of the boarding house and sighed. Damon had texted her asking her to meet him and she almost didn't show. She hesitated, thinking over her decision to come, before reaching out and opening the door.

"Damon?" She called out into the empty house. Toby and John had left hours ago. She closed the front door behind her and ventured up to Damon's room, where he was pulling a clean shirt over his head, having just took a shower. She stopped in the doorway when she saw him and crossed her arms.

"What do you want?" She asked. "This better be important. I'm supposed to be on my way to Caroline's house for a sleepover."

Damon looked at her for a moment before walking over. He stopped in front of her and reached out to brush some of her curls from her face, but Elowen shied away. Damon sighed.

"I wanted to apologize. About Jessica."

"Apologies mean nothing unless you actually change."

Damon took a deep breath before responding.

"After you left last night, I got really drunk and then I got really angry after I stopped feeling guilty. Angry at Jules, angry that Rose had to die, angry at the world. Just... really angry. I needed to take it out on something."

"And Jessica just happened to be the poor, unfortunate soul you picked out of a hat."

"Yeah. I wasn't thinking clearly, but what I could think about was how upset it would make you if you found out, and there was this little voice in the back of my head that was telling me not to do it, to let her go, and I almost did."

"Then why didn't you?"

Damon searched for the right words. He hated opening up to people and being vulnerable, but if anyone deserved to see this side of him, it was Elowen.

"I do this thing where... I sabotage every good thing that comes into my life because I feel like I'm not worth it. You're one of the best things to happen to me in a really long time, and the thing is, I don't deserve you. But Stefan does. So I killed her, because I didn't want to feel like I had to live up to anyone's expectations. I can't be who you want me to be, Wen. I can't be good, because then that's what people want me to continue to be, and it's just so much easier for people to hate me."

Elowen sighed.

"Is that what you're trying to do? Make me hate you?" She reached up to touch Damon's face. "I've never asked you of anything other than to stop killing people. That might change later on down the line, or I might tack more things onto the list, but I understand that people can't just change overnight. I believe that you can change and grow, Damon, but I won't stick around for people who don't want to change or grow, and right now, you're giving me signals that you don't want to do either. I don't want you to do it for me. I want you to do it for yourself. You need to stop running. There's nothing wrong with feeling things. You gave me this same speech last night, and I hear you. You're afraid of what people will think of you if you screw up, but that's part of being human."

"But I'm not human, Wen. I'm a vampire. I don't do human. Not anymore."

"See, that's the attitude I'm talking about." Elowen shook her head. "I'm not going to surround myself with people like that. Not anymore. I used to try and justify why my dad acted the way he did and did the things he did to us, and it got me nowhere. I'm not going to do that with you. Until you show me that you want to make changes, I can't stick around. I'm sorry."

Elowen turned to leave, but Damon quickly reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Wait. Just wait."

Elowen faced him again.

"I love you, Wen, and I don't deserve you, but I don't want to lose you forever. If... I try to do this, try to be more like Stefan-"

"That's not what I meant. You don't have to try to be like anyone else but yourself. Sure, I guess you can use Stefan as an example, but when I say I want you to change, I don't mean become someone you're not."

Damon frowned.

"I'm not following. You _don't_ want me to act like the good guy?"

"I'm not saying that, either. You can have character development for the better without turning into someone else. Stefan is Stefan. You're you. All I'm asking from you at the moment is to stop killing innocent people and to do the right thing. And if you're going to kill, if you absolutely have to, do it with reason, not just because you want to kill someone and disregard human life like you used to. Like tonight. You killed Jules's pack because they were going to hurt Caroline. It wasn't exactly the 'right' thing to do, but if you didn't fight back, you would be dead. I'm not asking for a lot, Damon. I'm not asking you to completely change your personality. I'm just asking you to at least try, to not give up. Can you do that?"

Damon paused as he thought this over. Elowen was looking up at him hopefully and after a few moments, Damon gave in and nodded.

"If it's what makes you happy, then I'll do just about anything."

"Careful, I might take you up on that offer."

Elowen and Damon smiled at each other. Damon cupped Elowen's face in his hands and leaned down to kiss her.

"Okay, I seriously need to get to Caroline's," Elowen said as she pulled back. "I'll see you later."

As she tried to leave, Damon pulled her back and gave her another quick kiss.

"Okay, now you can go."

With an endearing shake of her head, Elowen left Damon's room with a smile on her face.

**xxxx**

Caroline was picking out the wooden darts that were in her neck. Josiah made a face as he watched on.

"I wish there was a way to help you," he said. Caroline look at him through the mirror.

"You just being here is enough."

Josiah and Caroline shared a smile. The moment was ruined when there was a knock on the door. Josiah got up to answer it and stopped short when he saw Tyler through the glass window. Anger filled him as he ripped the door open.

"You've got a lot of nerve to show up here."

"I know. I just wanted to make sure Caroline was okay."

"She's fine."

Josiah glared Tyler down, who shifted under his gaze.

"Josiah?" Came Caroline's call from down the hall. "Who is it?" She came around the corner, saw Tyler and stopped. "Tyler."

"I had no idea they would come for you."

She approached the door slowly and stopped just behind Josiah. "I got this." When Josiah looked at her in disbelief, she stood her ground. "I said I got this."

Josiah stepped aside and let Caroline take his place.

"Do you know what they did to me?"

"I'm sorry, but it's crazy now, okay? I don't know who to trust. You guys lied to me."

"Then why are you here?" Josiah snapped. Caroline turned around with a look that read, 'Stand down'. He quieted down. Caroline turned back towards Tyler.

"I lied to protect my friends. I lied to protect _you_. Don't you get that?"

"Caroline…"

"You just stood there when they were going to kill us. You just stood there! You didn't do anything!"

"I didn't know what to do!"

"You help your friend. That's what you do."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's too late, because we're not friends anymore. And what happened to me tonight, that will never happen again. So, you take that back to your little werewolf pack and you get the hell out of my house."

Caroline slammed the door in his face, grabbed Josiah and walked off.

**xxxx**

Elowen knocked on Elena's door. She answered it after a few seconds.

"Elowen. Is Caroline okay?"

Elowen nodded her head. "Physically, yeah, but mentally and emotionally, no. Stefan had an idea that I fully agree with. Josiah's there with her now, but he suggested that we get Bonnie and have a girl's night. Are you down?"

Elena nodded her head. "Sure. Lemme go grab some things and then we'll get Bonnie. I need to get away from John anyway."

Elowen waited outside for Elena, who had changed when she came back outside. She closed the door behind her and locked it. Elowen finally noticed that Elena's eyes were puffy and she furrowed her eyebrows. They both piled into Elowen's car, but she didn't say anything until they were away from the house.

"Did something happen? I mean, I know we're technically not friends, so if you don't want to talk about it, no big deal, but if you do… I'm willing to listen."

Elena sighed deeply. "It's just… John gave me this bracelet. It belonged to my mom. Not Isobel, but my mom, Miranda. He gave me this big speech about how he meant nothing to me and that he lost a brother that day and I just… I don't believe him. I refuse to. Not after everything he's done."

Elowen nodded, but kept her eyes on the road. "I get it. I wouldn't trust anyone who tried to kill my friends either."

Elena felt a question she'd been burning to ask come to the front of her brain. She contemplated asking it, hesitated when she decided to, but finally worked up the courage. "Your dad did the same, when he came with John."

Elowen tightened her grip on the steering wheel. Elena swallowed, but continued on anyway.

"That must've been hard, right? I mean, your parents divorced for a reason-"

"Can you just ask the question, please?"

The tone of her voice startled Elena a little bit. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth. "What happened? Why did they split?"

"Luis isn't a very good person," Elowen replied tightly. "He was abusive."

"Oh… I'm sorry you had to go through that." Suddenly, everything made sense to Elena. She almost felt bad for asking.

"Me, too."

They pulled up to Bonnie's house and got out of the car. Of course, Bonnie was all for it, which is how they found themselves driving to Caroline's. Elowen knocked on the door when they arrived.

Josiah answered the door, followed by Caroline, who was standing in a bathrobe. He slumped when he saw them and started to whine.

"Oh, no fair! You guys are turning this into a girl's night, aren't you?"

"Sorry, little bro." Elowen reached up and ruffled his hair. "Unless you wanna sit through gossip and mani-pedi's?"

Josiah actually thought this over for a long moment. Caroline, Bonnie, Elena and Elowen all laughed at this.

"Wait, you're serious?" Caroline asked when he still hadn't said anything. He shrugged.

"You guys can braid my hair. It's long enough for that, isn't it?"

"Well, regardless, we're gonna slumber it!" Bonnie stated. "Last time we did this, Elowen and I were possessed and it ruined the whole thing."

Suddenly, Caroline sniffled and started to cry. "I love you guys."

All of them hugged Caroline, who started to cry harder.

"We all love you, Care," Elena said. "Now, how about braiding Josiah's hair now?"

The girls laughed while Josiah grabbed at his hair.

"Just don't make me look ridiculous."

"Don't worry, we won't," Elowen cooed. They laughed again as Josiah grumbled and closed the door.


	27. Chapter 27

Elena, Caroline and Bonnie were all squished onto Caroline's bed while Elowen and Josiah crashed on the floor. Josiah had complained that it wasn't fair that he couldn't be on the bed with Caroline, but Bonnie claimed that there was a 'no boyfriend on the bed' rule and that he was only there because they allowed him to be.

Elowen's phone started to ring, promptly waking up everybody in the room. They all groaned and Caroline pulled her pillow over her head to try and block out the noise.

"Go away!" She grumbled.

Elowen crawled across the floor towards her things and pulled her phone out of her bag so she could answer it.

"Hello?" She greeted sleepily. Josiah threw his pillow in her direction and hit her square on the head. She threw it back, but missed.

"Shh!" Bonnie shushed, while Caroline peeked out from under her pillow.

"Elowen!"

Elowen shot Caroline a look of annoyance and dragged herself out of the room to continue the conversation.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Stefan asked through the line.

"Maybe," Elowen replied.

"Oops. How was the slumber party?"

"Good and much needed. Josiah let us paint his nails and braid his hair. He almost let us do his makeup, but he chickened out."

Stefan laughed. "Josiah was there?"

"He refused to leave." A smile crept onto Elowen's face. "Speaking of sleepovers, when can you and I have one?"

"Hmm," Stefan hummed. "That can be arranged."

"Okay. Now. Today. Take me far, far away."

"Even with everything that's going on?"

"_Because_ of everything that's going on."

"Well, in that case, where would you like to go?"

"Actually, and I know this is gonna ruin the moment a little bit, I was thinking we could bring Elena and Toby along. He's got a thing for her and they were supposed to have a date yesterday that never happened because of everything that went down."

"So, like a double date type of thing?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'm fine with that. Now we just need to figure out a place to go that will fit all four of us."

Elowen glanced back into the room to look at Elena's sleeping form.

"I think I might know of a place."

**xxxx**

There was a knock on the door and Esmeralda came downstairs to answer it. She was the only one awake and with Elowen and Josiah gone for the morning, it was only her, Eliana and Sydney.

She gasped when she saw who was on the other side.

"Elijah."

Elijah bowed his head in greeting. "Hello, Esmeralda. I hope you've been well."

Esmeralda quickly stepped outside and closed the door behind her. Elijah smiled softly at the sight of her and raised a hand to caress her cheek with the back of his fingers. Esmeralda had to stop herself from leaning into his warm touch. Whatever fling they might've had all those years ago was in the past and in the past is where it would stay. She reached up with her own hand, grabbed his and pushed it away from her face.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, trying to deflect his movements.

Truth be told, when she first heard Elena had made a deal with a vampire named Elijah, part of her was hoping it was a different Elijah. At the same time, part of her was hoping it was _her_ Elijah. '_Her Elijah_'. She couldn't believe she'd even thought that. She was also most definitely was not expecting a visit from him.

"It's come to my attention that your lovely daughter has the moonstone in her possession," Elijah replied calmly.

"What do you want it for? It's been de-spelled."

"I think you and I both know that's not the case. Your daughter knew, too, or else she wouldn't have taken it. Truthfully, the 'spell' Luka used was supposed to be a distraction so we could obtain the stone, but she's much smarter than I originally thought."

"And why should I just give it to you?"

"Because you know that you can trust me."

"No, I don't. I haven't seen you in 16 years, Elijah. I don't know you anymore."

"You know that I'm a man of my word. I keep my promises and I see them through."

Elijah raised his hand again and cupped Esmeralda's chin. She inhaled sharply at his touch and swallowed.

"You can't do that."

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Do what?"

"Charm me, flirt. Be intimate. I'm seeing somebody."

"If memory serves me right, you were married the last time I saw you."

"That was different. I was young and stupid. I didn't know any better."

"Very well." Elijah withdrew his hand. "Now, the moonstone?"

"Why do you need it so badly?"

"If I'm going to help protect your daughter in any shape or form, I need it. Don't you want to keep her safe?"

Esmeralda paused for a long moment. "... Are you trying to use Elowen in your favor?"

"Is it working?"

Another few moments passed as Esmeralda stared at Elijah. Finally, she gave in and sighed.

"Fine."

She opened the front door and stopped when she set foot back in the house. She turned back around.

"You can come in."

Elijah stepped in behind her and closed the front door. Esmeralda was already heading upstairs towards Elowen's room, where she knew she was keeping the moonstone. A few minutes passed before she started back down. She stopped in front of Elijah and handed out the stone. He extended his hand to grab it, but she drew back last second.

"Don't make me regret giving this to you."

"You won't."

"Promise?"

"You have my word."

Esmeralda set the moonstone in the palm of his hand. Elijah bowed his head once more.

"Thank you. I shall take my leave now."

Eliana came downstairs in a bathrobe, yawning, as the front door closed with a soft click.

"Who was that?"

"Nobody," Esmeralda said shortly. "Who wants breakfast?"

**xxxx**

"So, John Gilbert gave me this to kill Elijah," Damon was telling Alaric. He'd led him into the parlor and was unrolling the dagger from its cloth. "Said you have to dip the dagger in the remains of an old white ash tree that dates back to the Originals, if there's any truth in that."

He handed the dagger over to Alaric.

"So, you think it's a setup?" Alaric asked.

"It could be. Guy's a weasel. Wouldn't put anything past him." Damon turned around and walked over to the bar to pour himself a drink. "What are you up to today, Mr. Saltzman?"

"Well, Esmeralda and I were supposed to go on a date, but somehow, we both got roped into doing this Historical Society thing at the Lockwood's."

"Where Elijah's the guest of honor."

"Tell me you're not gonna kill him at the tea party."

"No. That would be stupid."

Alaric raised his eyebrows and shot Damon a skeptical look. Damon sighed dramatically.

"I want to know his endgame before I kill him, but I do think it's time Elijah and I officially met."

Damon tapped Alaric with the dagger with a mocking smile on his face. Alaric looked at him, clearly not amused.

**xxxx**

Bonnie, Caroline and Josiah were all sitting at a table in The Grill.

"Okay, so, tell me about this big, witchy plan you've been cooking," Caroline told Bonnie.

"We still don't know the extent of what Elijah's up to," Bonnie started to explain.

"No, we don't."

"So, I'm gonna ask Luka to tell me what he knows."

"And he's not gonna tell you anything."

"She never said he was gonna have a choice," Josiah pointed out. "She's been asking me to help her with this. It's a good plan. Not full proof, but it's all we've got."

Caroline smirked. "I think I'm liking this plan."

"Good, because we could use all the help we can get."

After they were done talking, Josiah had gone to the bathroom while Caroline waited for him near the entrance.

"Caroline."

She turned and saw Tyler approaching her. She bristled and started to walk the other way.

"You stay away from me."

"It's important."

Tyler reached out for her arm, but caught her purse instead. It fell to the floor and all of the contents spilled out onto the floor. They both knelt down to pick everything up.

"Just stop it, Tyler, okay? You just… you're just making it worse."

Tyler picked up Caroline's phone and swiftly slipped it into his back pocket without her noticing. "Please, Caroline. I'm sorry about what happened-"

Suddenly, Tyler was pulled back onto his feet. Josiah had come out of the bathroom and saw Tyler talking with Caroline and felt himself get angry. Josiah was holding him by the front of his shirt.

"You don't get to talk to her anymore. Leave."

"Josiah…" Caroline stood up after making sure everything was back in her bag and had placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let him go. He's not worth it."

After a few seconds of staring him down, Josiah pushed Tyler away roughly. "Stay away from us, alright?"

"Come on." Caroline grabbed onto Josiah's hand and led him out of The Grill. It took everything in Josiah to not punch Tyler in the face (again), but left with Caroline nonetheless.

Tyler stood there and watched them go.

**xxxx**

"Ready for an awkward romantic weekend?" Elowen asked jokingly. They were at Elena's house picking her up. Stefan, Elowen and Toby's things were already in Elowen's car. Elena had agreed almost immediately, citing wanting to get away from John as her reason. Toby said yes once he learned Elena was going. Piece of cake.

Elena laughed. "Awkward because it's a double date?"

"Awkward because Toby and I used to date, you two barely know each other and you and I aren't really friends yet."

"Well, when you put it that way…" Elena trailed off. "Let's just go before John shows up and pretends to be a concerned father."

Stefan and Toby came through the front door to start taking Elena's things when her phone chimed with a notification. They all looked back at her as she started typing out a reply.

"Please tell me there's nothing wrong," Stefan spoke, but Elena shook her head as she finished texting.

"Nothing's wrong. Just Caroline. Come on, let's go."

They all headed out the door with Elena's bags and closed it behind them.

**xxxx**

Elowen pulled up to the lake house Elena's parents owned. She was thankful Elena agreed like she'd hoped, because otherwise, she had no idea where her and Stefan would've gone. Elena sighed deeply from the backseat, drawing attention to herself.

"You alright?" Toby asked from beside her.

"I'm good," she replied. "I just haven't been back here since before…"

Picking up on the hint, Elowen widened her eyes and twisted around in her seat to face Elena. "Oh my god. I had no idea. Look, just say the word, okay? We'll get back on the highway and we'll go anywhere else."

Elena smiled and shook her head. "I've always loved it here. I want it to stay that way. I was just… having a moment."

"Okay."

Toby carefully took hold of her hand and squeezed it. He helped her out of the car as Elowen and Stefan exited as well. Elena went on ahead to unlock the house and walked in. She looked around nostalgically. Elowen and Toby walked in behind her. Stefan stopped at the front door.

"You don't have to wait out there," Elena commented when she turned around and saw Stefan. "I'm all good."

"Oh, that's great, because I'm uh… I'm stuck."

Elowen, Toby and Elena all shared a look.

"Oh my god, you can't get in," Elena realized.

"Not gonna be a very awkward romantic weekend unless you, uh, invite me inside."

"Stefan, I can't."

Elowen looked at Elena in alarm.

"What?" Both Elowen and Stefan asked at the same time.

"My parents left this place to John Gilbert. He's the only one who can invite you in. I'm sorry. I completely forgot."

"You're… You're joking, right?" Elowen asked. Elena looked at her helplessly and shook her head. They sat in silence for a minute before she started laughing.

"I'm kidding. Stefan Salvatore, I hereby invite you into this home."

Elowen breathed a sigh of relief as Stefan stepped into the house.

"That wasn't funny, Elena," Elowen said, unamused.

"Come on, it was kind of funny. Right?" Elena turned to Toby for backup, who threw his hands up.

"I'm not siding with either of you. It's supposed to be awkward, remember?"

"It would be even more awkward if you sided with someone," Stefan pointed out, coming to stand behind Elowen. Both her and Elena stared at him expectantly. He laughed nervously from the sudden pressure he felt.

"Is it hot in here or is that just me?"

Neither Elowen or Elena let up. Toby looked to Stefan for help, who smirked at him in response. Finally, Toby groaned and gestured to Elowen.

"She's right. It wasn't that funny."

Elowen smiled in triumph while Elena pouted.

"Of course you'd side with her!"

"I'm siding with her because the joke was poorly executed. The whole weekend would've been ruined if Stefan couldn't get in the house and for a second there everyone thought it was game over." Toby patted Elena's shoulder. "Don't worry. There'll be a next time. Let's just get everything in the house."

**xxxx**

Damon entered the Lockwood Mansion in search of Elijah. He spotted him talking to Carol and started to make his way over. However, the woman from the night before, Andie, intercepted him.

"I didn't know you'd be here. I'm Andie, remember?"

Damon shot her an agitated look and hoped she'd get the hint and walk away. She didn't. He watched Elijah from his spot and forced himself to respond.

"I remember. Sorry, I'm sort of preoccupied. If you'll excuse me…"

He tried stepping around her, but she moved in front of him.

"I know it might've been a bit forward of me, but I asked Jenna to give you my number. Did you get it?"

"I did."

He tried leaving again, but she just couldn't seem to pick up on his social cues and stopped him again. Damon was beyond irritated now. He was trying to be nice, but he wasn't sure how much more he could take.

"I'm sorry if I seem like I'm-"

"Trying way too hard?" Damon cut off. Andie blinked in surprise.

"I was going to say coming off strong."

"Look, Andie, you seem like a nice woman, but I have a girlfriend. I thought I made it clear I wasn't interested, but apparently you don't pick up on this stuff very well. That, or you were refusing to acknowledge them."

Andie looked both hurt and offended, but before she could say anything, Damon placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Please go bother somebody else," he compelled her. Andie walked off without another word. Sighing in relief, Damon continued his way towards Elijah and Carol. He came to stop right in front of them.

"Damon!" Carol smiled at the sight of him. Damon smiled back.

"Carol."

"What a surprise!"

Carol leaned forward and exchanged kisses on the cheek with Damon. She turned to Elijah.

"Elijah, I want you to meet Damon Salvatore. His family is one of Mystic Falls' founding families."

"Mm-hm," Damon hummed. "Such a pleasure to meet you."

"No," Elijah replied. "Pleasure's all mine."

**xxxx**

Bonnie approached Luka at the pool table in The Grill. She was holding two coffees in her hands.

"I come bearing coffee gifts." She handed one over to Luka, who accepted it.

"So, you're talking to me now?"

Bonnie shrugged. "I found out what your dad did, helping Elowen save the rest of my friends from the wolf pack. I also heard she just about broke your door down."

Luka and Bonnie shared a laugh.

"Well, had I known that's all it took…"

On the other side of The Grill, Caroline and Josiah were sitting across from each other, watching Bonnie and Luka. Jeremy walked in, spotted them and made his way over.

"Hey. How's it going?"

Caroline looked up at him in confusion.

"What are you doing here?"

"Bonnie called. I wanted to help. How's it going?" He asked again.

"She's selling it and he's buying it," Josiah told him. Caroline smirked.

"She's giving him the sex smile."

"Alright, Caroline," Jeremy said with some annoyance. "I get it."

Both Caroline and Josiah picked up on his jealous tone and shared knowing smiles. Either Jeremy didn't notice or he just pretended to not see them silently communicating.

"What do you say?" Luka questioned. He gestured to the pool table. "You want to play a game?"

Bonnie nodded. "Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Luka stepped away to try and start the game, but he stumbled and wobbled around. He placed his hands onto the pool table to try and steady himself.

"What's happening to me?"

Luka fell over and Bonnie quickly grabbed his shoulders to keep him upright. Josiah, Jeremy and Caroline took this as their cue and stood up.

"We got him," Josiah said as him and Jeremy took hold of Luka. "We got him."

"What kind of witch roofie was that?" Jeremy asked as him and Josiah led Luka out of the building.

"A strong one," Bonnie replied with a smile. "Let's just get him out of here before someone notices."

**xxxx**

Elena was standing outside on the dock with a large blanket wrapped around her. She was staring out at the water. Toby carefully approached her as to not startle her.

"Having another moment?"

Without glancing back at him, she nodded.

"Jeremy broke his arm diving off this dock when he was 6. My dad taught me how to fish right off the edge over there. So many memories."

Toby came to stop just next to her.

"If I'm not being too forward, I'd really like to create some new memories with you. Together."

Elena smiled and finally looked at Toby. "I'd like that."

Toby smiled back. "Well, then, this is where your future boyfriend told you you're beautiful." He leaned over towards her ear and dropped his voice down to a whisper. "You're beautiful."

Elena laughed a little. "Future boyfriend, huh?"

Toby nodded confidently. "Yeah. If we ever get to that first date we were supposed to have. What do you say? Should we try again?"

Elena hesitated. Then, she glanced back at Elowen and Stefan, who were sitting just outside of the cabin. Toby tilted his head and followed her line of sight.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just…"

"Just what?"

"Don't you think it might make your friendship with Elowen weird? I mean, yeah, you two used to date, but her and I… we're on rocky ground."

Toby laughed out loud. Elena looked at him quizzically.

"What? What's so funny? I feel like I'm missing the joke here."

"You mean it hasn't crossed your mind yet?"

Elena furrowed her eyebrows. "What hasn't crossed my mind yet?"

"Why we're here. Elowen and Stefan could've made a lover's escape this weekend and came here by themselves, yet they invited us. Why do you think that is?"

Elena continued to look at him confusedly. Toby sighed.

"Elowen's playing matchmaker. She knows that I like you and she's been scheming to put us in a room together alone this whole time. You haven't noticed?"

"... Well, she _did_ ask me what I thought of you, but I just thought that she was maybe… I don't know." Elena shrugged. "You're sure it won't make things strange at all?"

"If Miss Know-It-All doesn't think so, I think we'll be fine. So, how about that date?"

Elowen was watching Toby and Elena carefully from her spot next to Stefan. She nudged him with her shoulder.

"What are they talking about?"

Stefan chuckled. "Making memories together."

"Aww, that's so sweet!" She paused. Stefan looked over at her when she didn't say anything else and saw she had her thinking face on. He patiently waited for her to speak.

"... Do you ever think about us, what our future will be like, our memories?" She asked at last. Stefan sighed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I think there are a lot of conversations to be had about our future, about the kind of life we could have together."

Elowen crinkled her eyebrows together as she thought over her next words. "I want to make one thing clear. I don't want to be a vampire."

She was still looking ahead while Stefan was staring directly at her. He brushed some of her hair behind her ear and studied her face for a moment.

"I know," he said softly. "Being a witch means a lot to you. It's your heritage. I'd hate for you to give all of that up just for me and Damon."

Elowen played around with her fingers and still refused to look at Stefan. She wasn't sure she could say this directly to his face.

"And… I want kids. A daughter. Evelyn."

Stefan smiled. "I've always wanted a daughter. Does it have to be an E name, though?"

Elowen shrugged. "It's a family tradition. All girl names start with E and boy names start with J. That's how it's always been."

"Traditions can be broken, can't they?"

She tilted her head and finally turned her eyes onto Stefan. "I mean, I guess so. Why?"

"It's just… I've liked the name Claire for decades. I used to imagine having a daughter with that name. I guess I stopped because I figured it would never happen."

Elowen contemplated this for a moment. "Claire," she repeated, trying the name out. "I like it. Although, I guess we can't really discuss baby names without Damon, can we?"

Stefan laughed. "I'm not too sure Damon wants to have children, if I'm being honest."

"I dunno. I think he might be open to the idea."

"Emphasis on the 'might'."

Elowen playfully rolled her eyes. She looked back out at the water and watched Elena and Toby talk to each other. She felt Stefan draw her in closer with the arm that was still around her shoulder.

"Y'know, this will all be a memory someday. Sitting outside a cabin on the lake with your boyfriend, discussing your future together. The best moment of all, however, is when he told you that he loves you." Stefan hovered his mouth over her ear and lowered his voice. "I love you."

Elowen smiled and turned her head back towards Stefan. She leaned over and kissed him.

"I love you, too."

**xxxx**

Damon opened the door to Richard's study and gestured for Elijah to go in. He did as he was told and entered the room. Damon followed and closed the door behind him.

"What can I do for you, Damon?" Elijah asked.

"I was hoping we could have a word."

"Where's Elowen and the doppelganger?"

"Safe with Stefan and Elowen's pet werewolf Toby. Speaking of werewolves, that's the reason they're laying low. There's a bit of an infestation problem."

"Oh, yes, I heard about that."

"I'm sure you did since it was your witch who helped saved the day."

"You're welcome, by the way."

Damon wandered over and leaned against the desk in the room. He crossed his arms and stared at Elijah.

"Which adds to my confusion on exactly why you're here."

"Why don't you just stay focused on keeping Elowen and the doppelganger safe and leave the rest to me."

Elijah moved to exit the room, but Damon sped in front of him and blocked his way.

"Not good enough."

Before Damon could react, Elijah grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the nearby wall. Damon tried to grab at Elijah's neck, but he easily pried his hand off and continued to hold him against the wall.

"You young vampires, so arrogant. How dare you come in here and challenge me?"

"You can't kill me, man," Damon wheezed out. "It's not part of the deal."

"Silence."

Without any hesitation, Elijah took hold of a lone pencil lying on the desk and stabbed Damon in the neck with it. Damon yelped in pain and fell against the desk when Elijah finally let him go. He ripped the pencil out and tossed it on the ground. Elijah pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood off of his hands.

"I'm an Original. Show a little respect."

Elijah dangled the handkerchief in front of Damon, who took it and held it against the wound on his throat.

"The moment you cease to be of use to me, you're dead, so you should do what I say. Keep Elowen and the doppelganger safe."

Elijah turned and left the room, leaving Damon by himself.

**xxxx**

**Author's Note**: okay so i really, really would like to hear y'alls thoughts about this chapter, specifically the elena/toby pairing and the hinting that something went down between elijah and esmeralda in the past. i was really proud of this one when i finished writing it so i wanna hear some feedback c:


	28. Chapter 28

**Author's Note: **hey everyone! i'm just making this small note to tell y'all that i rewrote the first chapter of the first installment/season 1 of ptl. i'd suggest checking it out because a lot of it changed and the events are pretty different. i suppose it doesn't affect how the rest of the story played out, but it'll probably help you out a little if you read it. that's all :)

**xxxx**

Stefan and Elowen were in the kitchen preparing dinner. Elena and Toby were sitting on the couch, watching them.

"Y'know, my dad did all the cooking," Elena spoke up to break the silence.

"And your mom?" Toby asked.

Elena laughed. "She sat right here and watched. She couldn't cook if her life depended on it."

Elowen nodded her head at Toby. "Neither can he. Maybe you're perfect for each other after all."

Elena laughed again while Toby looked offended.

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" He tried to defend himself, but Elowen shot him a knowing look.

"You can burn water on a stove if you tried hard enough."

Elena glanced at the fire and noticed it wasn't as bright as it was before.

"Fire's dying."

Elowen stopped chopping an onion, wiped her hands on a towel and started to leave the kitchen. Stefan had stopped, too, and even Toby stood up.

"Guys, I got it," Elowen told them, but they both immediately started to shake their heads.

"It's cold outside," Stefan pointed out. Toby nodded.

"Besides, someone has to stay and finish dinner."

"Which is something Stefan is very capable of doing. Where are the jackets?" She asked Elena, who pointed upstairs.

"You'll find some in my parent's bedroom. Last door on the left."

Elowen started that way, followed by Stefan. Toby tried to go, too, but Elena quickly grabbed onto his hand.

"It's just getting some wood. She can do it herself."

Toby sighed loudly, but took a seat next to Elena again. In Elena's parents bedroom, Elowen pulled open the closet and pulled one of the heavier jackets out. Stefan plucked it out of her hands.

"Thank you."

Elowen rolled her eyes and turned around. "Stefan, I'll be fine."

"I know. You're strong, independant," Stefan walked closer with every compliment he gave, "self aware. It's hot. Sexy."

He was right in front of her now. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her passionately. Elowen was taken off guard at first, but managed to kiss him back. Stefan pushed her backwards into the closet and pressed her against the wall. Elowen pulled back with a gasp.

"Stefan! It's Elena's parent's bedroom and her and Toby are downstairs! Are you insane?"

Stefan smiled mischievously and leaned back in for another kiss. Elowen gave in this time and put her arms around his neck. He grabbed onto her thighs and lifted her up so her legs wrapped around his waist. She giggled into his mouth and lightly fell into the wall from losing her balance. A hollow thud came from inside the wall, causing Stefan to pull away. He looked at it with furrowed eyebrows.

"What?"

She planted her feet back on the ground and turned towards the wall. Stefan knocked on the wall and this time, Elowen heard it. They shared a skeptical look.

"This is hollow inside," she said. She moved out of the way so Stefan could break off one of the panels. With his strength, he removed the rest with ease. They must've heard the noise, because both Elena and Toby came trailing into the room.

"What is it?" Elena asked when she saw what they were doing.

"A really good hiding place," Stefan replied.

Behind all of the panels was a door. Stefan broke the lock off, tossed it on the ground and opened it. He flipped the light on and revealed an array of weaponry that was specifically for vampires hidden inside. They all looked at it with wide eyes.

**xxxx**

Jeremy, Caroline, Bonnie and Josiah were all at Caroline's house. Luka was unconscious in the living room. Caroline entered, her arms full of candles.

"We only have, like, an hour or two before my mom gets home. These are all I could find."

Jeremy stood up from his spot on the ground and grabbed some of the candles from Caroline.

"Place them evenly around the room," Josiah instructed. Jeremy and Caroline did as they were told. Caroline handed the remaining candles to Bonnie, who took them and placed them around Luka.

"How does this work?" Jeremy asked.

"Um, I'll put him in a trance and ask him questions," Bonnie replied. "It's like hypnosis."

"You're sure you're strong enough for this?"

"That's why I'm here," Josiah cut in. "And why we need so many candles. She'll draw power for them and me."

"I'll get the matches," Caroline said and tried to leave the room, but Josiah shook his head.

"I got it." He snapped his fingers and all of the candles lit up. Caroline turned around and smiled.

"That's hot."

"Pun intended or not?" Jeremy questioned with a laugh.

"It'd still be hot even if Bonnie did it, right?"

Josiah held his hands up when Caroline looked at him. "That sounds like a trap question, Care. I'm not saying anything."

"Good answer, dude," Jeremy piped up. Caroline rolled her eyes.

"I need a bowl of water," Bonnie spoke up. Jeremy started to leave the room.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll go get it."

Caroline smiled broadly at Bonnie, who looked up at her with wide eyes.

"Okay, what was that? 'It'll be hot even if Bonnie did it'?"

Caroline sat down on the floor across from Bonnie but next to Josiah. She dropped her voice down to a whisper. "He is so crushing on you!"

"You should've seen him earlier, when you were talking to Luka," Josiah said. "He got all jealous."

Bonnie shrugged. "So?"

"So, what, you'd rather be with traitor witch over here?" Caroline gestured to Luka.

"I'm not into Luka," Bonnie denied. "It's just, y'know, he understood me, and he was new and different."

"And you've known Jeremy since forever and you only see him one way, as Elena's brother. But, you're a witch and I'm a vampire. Y'know, it's not like we're in any position-"

"To be picky."

Caroline laughed and shook her head. "No. To judge."

"She's right, y'know," Josiah agreed. "I think that _because_ he's Elena's little brother makes it not so… difficult. You know each other already."

Caroline nodded. "Exactly."

"I cannot believe you two are endorsing this."

"Don't act like you haven't thought about it."

Bonnie looked down when Caroline said this. She smiled in triumph.

"I knew it!"

"Shh! Can you be any louder? Okay, yes, I've thought about it. Will you shut up about it now?"

Caroline and Josiah shared knowing smirks as Bonnie blushed at them. Jeremy chose that moment to reenter the room, holding a bowl of water. He handed it to Bonnie, oblivious to what had happened, and sat down next to Josiah. She placed the bowl on the floor by Luka's head.

"Looks like he's waking up," Jeremy noted. Sure enough, Luka was stirring slightly. Bonnie dipped her hands in the water and placed them on either side of Luka's head. The flames of the candles flared up, indicating that she had started the spell.

Here goes nothing.

**xxxx**

Damon and Alaric were sitting in the library at the boarding house. They each had a glass of bourbon in their hands.

"Today was a bust," Damon grumbled.

"Yeah. How's the throat?" Alaric asked.

"Sore."

"Yeah. That Elijah's one scary dude, but with nice hair. You want another one?"

Damon handed over his glass and Alaric stood up to grab it. He walked over to the bar and started to pour them both another drink.

"He's gonna be hard to kill."

"Yeah. I'd think twice before I'd trust that dagger and some ashes to do the job. You're gonna need more info."

"I'm out of sources."

Alaric handed Damon his now full glass and returned to his seat. He took a sip from his own, felt his phone vibrate and went to check the message.

"Looks like I've gotta go. Esmeralda said she needs to talk to me and apparently it's urgent." He stood back up and set his glass down on the table. "Don't worry. I'll, uh, show myself out."

"Good luck."

Damon closed his eyes and put his feet up on the table. He was just beginning to relax when he heard a loud crashing noise from the hallway. His eyes snapped open and, now alert, got up and walked out of the library. When he reached the door, he found Alaric standing there with a knife sticking out of his stomach. He saw Damon just as he fell to the floor, dead. Damon didn't have time to be surprised, because out of nowhere, somebody dropped down from the rafters and onto Damon. They fought for a moment when the intruder suddenly stabbed Damon in the neck with a syringe filled with vervain.

Seeing as how Damon had been drinking small amounts of vervain ever since Rose died, his body had already built up a small tolerance to it, but not enough to help him in this situation. He did his best to try and throw the person off, but the vervain finally hit his system and he went down. The man on his back stood up and looked down at Damon.

"Whew! Damn, you're strong. It took the whole syringe."

Two more people walked in through the door, each holding weapons. The man who fought Damon pointed down at Alaric.

"Grab that one. He's dead."

Jules entered the house last, a shotgun slung over her shoulder.

"Hi, Damon. Nice to see you again."

**xxxx**

Elena removed a journal from a bookcase that was inside the hidden room. Toby was examining the weapons hanging off the wall while Elowen grabbed another journal. Stefan was leaning against the doorframe.

"These must be the other Johnathan Gilbert journals," Elena said at last. "Jeremy had one, but John said that there were others." She flipped through the pages. "His whole life's in here."

"I'll go get the firewood," Stefan offered. "I'll let you have a moment."

As Stefan left, Elena crouched down on the floor and grabbed a handful of wooden bullets. Toby turned and went after him.

"Wait! I'll come with."

He left, too, leaving Elowen and Elena alone.

**xxxx**

Damon had been chained to a chair with some kind of wooden spiked collar wrapped around his neck. The vervain had sort of worn off, but he was still weak enough that he couldn't break free. He spotted Alaric's body a few feet away and tried to worriedly sit up, but was unable to. He spotted the ring on his finger and breathed a sigh of relief. The man who stabbed him with the syringe was standing to his right, holding the end of two different chains that were connected to the collar around Damon's neck.

"Morning, sunshine," he said tauntingly. "I saw this in a movie once, some torture porn flick. Anyway, they had this collar device that was really cool, so I just modified it some with some wooden nails, and when I pull…"

He tugged at the ends of the chains and the wooden spikes dug into Damon's neck. He groaned in pain through clenched teeth. Jules, from the corner of the room, spoke up.

"So, I hear you have the moonstone."

The other two werewolves that had come with walked in behind her. Damon laughed weakly.

"Oh, if you only knew the irony of this moment right now. Let me tell you how this is gonna go. You're gonna torture me, I don't talk, someone loses a heart. Last time, it was your boy Mason."

"This time, it'll be you."

Jules looked at the man holding the chains and nodded. He yanked on the chains and impaled the spikes into Damon's neck again. He yelled in pain.

This was going to be a long night.

**xxxx**

"How long is this gonna take?" Caroline asked.

"I don't know. He's fighting me," Bonnie replied.

"Please stop," Luka mumbled. "Please."

Josiah reached over and placed his hands over Bonnie's. Almost immediately, Luka had successfully been put under the trance.

"There. Alright. Why are you working with Elijah?" Bonnie questioned.

"Klaus," Luka answered monotonously. "We both want him dead."

"You want to kill Klaus, too. Why?"

"Because he has her and we have to get her away from him."

"Who… who are you talking about?"

"My sister."

"His sister?" Jeremy repeated in surprise. Bonnie ignored him and continued asking questions.

"Why does he have her?"

"He's searching for ways to undo the curse without the doppelganger. He's forced generations of witches to help him for centuries. The Ramirez line had previously been enslaved to do so, but they went into hiding decades ago, so he had to start finding alternative options."

Everyone looked at Josiah with wide eyes. This had been news to him, too.

"What has Elijah promised you?"

"If we help Elijah kill Klaus, he's promised to return her to us."

"And how do you kill Klaus? How do you kill an Original vampire?"

Luka started to fight the spell again and opened his eyes.

"He'll kill me if I tell you. Don't make me."

"It's okay, Bonnie," Jeremy tried to say. He didn't want anybody to die. "We can find another way."

"No," she replied. With Josiah's help, she put him back into the trance. "How will you kill Klaus?"

"After the sacrifice, Klaus will be vulnerable, weak. It's our only chance."

"_After_ the sacrifice?" Caroline asked in alarm.

"What do you mean, after?" Bonnie questioned as calmly as she could.

"Klaus will be vulnerable," Luka repeated.

"But, Elena will be dead."

"Yes. Elena has to die."

"What about Elowen?" Josiah asked frantically. "What will happen to her?"

"She will go with Elijah. He'll keep her safe."

"But if Klaus is dead, she won't need protecting anymore!"

"He'll keep her safe," was all Luka said. Josiah drew his hands back from Bonnie's and ran them through his hair. Caroline put a comforting hand on his shoulder. She wasn't sure what else she could do.

Everyone in the room was stunned into silence.

Nothing else was said.

**xxxx**

Stefan dumped an armful of wood onto the porch and returned to the garage. Toby was already in there grabbing more firewood, but when he rounded the corner, he found Toby unconscious on the floor. He rushed forward to check on him, but froze when he reached him. He slowly stood up and turned around. Brady was standing behind him with a gun pointed straight at him. He fired it and shot Stefan in the chest with a wooden bullet. He went down with a painful moan. Tyler entered the garage at that moment.

"Keep him down," Brady told Tyler. "If he moves," he handed the gun over, "kill him."

Brady exited the garage as Stefan continued to writhe around in pain. Tyler pointed the gun at him.

"Don't move!"

"Just let me get the bullet out," Stefan begged. "It punctured my heart. I need to get it out. I'm not gonna fight you."

Tyler circled around Stefan while keeping the gun pointed at him. Toby laid on the ground just next to Stefan and Tyler faltered a little seeing him like that. He almost felt bad that he got caught up in the middle of everything.

"I don't think so."

"Tyler, why are you doing this?"

"I can't let you break the curse."

"You know about the curse?"

"You're liars, all of you."

"No. I swear to you, we don't want to break the curse, Tyler. We don't want to do that."

"Oh, yeah? Well, I do." Tyler shot Stefan in the leg, who screamed in pain. "I can't be like this forever."

"Tyler, I'm just trying to save Elena."

"Elena will be fine!"

Stefan paused and looked up at Tyler. "... They didn't tell you that part, did they? Who are the liars now?"

"Tell me what?"

"In order to break the curse, Elena has to die."

A look of shock crossed Tyler's face. He looked uneasy and began to lower the gun.

Inside the cabin, Elowen and Elena were both rubbing their arms from the cold. They'd come downstairs a few minutes ago and had been waiting for Stefan and Toby to come back. The front door was wide open and Elowen tried to peer out of it without going outside.

"Are you growing trees out there?" She shouted so Stefan could hear. Then again, he could hear her even when she was whispering, so maybe yelling wouldn't help. When Stefan or Toby didn't answer, Elena and Elowen glanced at each other nervously. Elena inched over to the counter and silently picked up a knife that was sitting there.

"Stefan?" She called out. "Toby?"

Still, there was no answer. Elena started making her way towards the front door, but Elowen quickly seized her arm. Elena looked back at her questioningly as Elowen shook her head.

"There's someone out there," she whispered. Elena widened her eyes in alarm.

"Who?"

"I don't know. Go upstairs and hide."

Elena nodded her head and let Elowen take the knife from her hands. As quietly as she could, Elena crept over to the stairs. It wasn't until she fully disappeared from view that Elowen said anything.

"We know you're out there! Come out, you coward!"

Brady appeared in the doorway. Not knowing about her power, he was slightly surprised she'd known he was out there, but started into the house nonetheless. Elowen threw the knife in her hand and, miraculously, it sunk itself into Brady's stomach. He fell to his knees with a groan. Before he could move, Elowen cast the same spell from before and Brady clamped his hands over his ears. He cried out in pain and while he was down, Elowen came up and kneed him in the face. He fell over as blood gushed from his nose.

The only thought going through her mind was that she needed to keep herself and Elena safe, so, acting quickly, she ripped the knife out of his stomach and started to stab him over and over again. It wasn't until Stefan came sailing through the front door did she finally stop.

"Hey, hey!" Stefan tore the knife out of her hands and tossed it aside. "He's down! He's down!" He took her in his arms as she numbly stared at Brady's body. She wasn't able to process what happened next. Her ears were ringing and her whole body seemed to shut down.

Elena came running downstairs when she heard Stefan's voice and stopped short at the sight of Brady and all the blood coating the floor. There was a huge puddle of it that was still spreading everywhere.

"Oh my god," Elena gasped.

"I know," Stefan replied. "Help me."

Elena rushed forward and helped Stefan help Elowen to her feet. Her body was limp in their arms and she allowed them to set her in a chair that was near the island.

"We need to clean her up," Stefan said. "Go get some towels. Quickly."

Elena nodded and ran off. Stefan grabbed at the roll of paper towels that was on the counter, wet them and started to wipe away the blood that had splattered on her face. Her clothes were completely soaked and getting the blood out would probably be impossible.

Tyler finally walked into the house with Toby's arm wrapped around his shoulder. Toby had finally come to and was clutching his head where he'd been hit. They both stopped when they saw the situation in front of them. Elena came rushing back into the room with fresh towels and handed them to Stefan.

"Use some of them to clean up the floor before it gets too bad. I'll take care of her." He cupped Elowen's face and tried to read her face, but it was completely slack and there was no emotion in her eyes. They were just blank. "Hey, listen to me, we need to get you out of these clothes, okay?"

He tried to wait until she gave a nod, blinked or made any sight of movement, but she didn't. At this point, Tyler was helping Elena, who wasn't sure why he was there, and Toby stumbled his way over to Elowen and Stefan.

"Is she okay?" He asked as Stefan helped her back onto her feet. He shook his head.

"No. She's unresponsive. Help me get her to the bathroom and grab some of her clothes from upstairs."

Toby did as he was asked and made his way upstairs as best as he could once Elowen was settled in the bathroom. Stefan had set the towels on the sink and had turned on the shower. He was setting the temperature when Toby came back with her clothes. He set them on the toilet lid.

"Go help Tyler and Elena. Brady's body needs to be moved. I'm going to shower her and get all of this blood off of her."

Toby nodded and left, closing the door behind him. Stefan started to strip Elowen of her blood soaked clothes and lead her into the shower. She finally moved her head and looked down at all of the blood going down the drain. Stefan had to move her head back up and away so she would look at him instead.

"Hey," he said softly. "You're safe now. He can't hurt you. Just let me get you cleaned up, alright?"

Elowen nodded robotically.

"Good. Now, you've gotta help me out here, Elle. Can you do that for me?"

Again, she nodded. Slowly, she moved fully under the water and allowed Stefan to clean her up. She moved around accordingly, but still didn't say a word. It wasn't until she was fully clothed in fresh clothes, dried off and sitting in the living room that she said anything.

"I killed him."

Toby and Tyler were outside burying Brady while Stefan and Elowen sat in front of the fire. Elena was awkwardly sitting in the kitchen.

"It was self defense," Stefan said, wrapping his arms around her. "He was going to hurt you."

"But, he's _dead_." She turned to him, her eyes watering. "He's dead and I killed him."

All at once, she started to cry. Full on crying, accompanied by loud sobbing and snot running down her nose. Toby and Tyler entered the house and both shot sympathetic looks in Elowen's direction. Her face was currently buried in Stefan's shoulder, so she didn't see. Tyler went over to Elena.

"I didn't know what they were gonna do to you," he told her. "I didn't. I just… I don't want to be like this anymore. I'm sorry, Elena."

Elena got up from her seat and embraced Tyler. He hugged her back.

"It's okay. I understand."

**xxxx**

"You know what the great thing about buckshot is?" Jules asked rhetorically. "It scatters through the body. Maximum damage." She lifted her shotgun and pointed it at Damon. "Where's the moonstone?"

"Get over it, honey," Damon said sarcastically. "You're never gonna get it."

"Looking for this?" A voice rang out from the entrance of the room. Everyone looked to find the culprit and found that Elijah was standing at the top of the stairs, holding the moonstone in his hand. Damon stared at it in shock. What was he doing with the stone? Elowen told him it was safe in her house.

Elijah made his way down the stairs and set the moonstone on the table. He stood back and gestured towards it. "Go ahead. Take it."

One of the werewolves used his enhanced wolf speed to make a grab for the stone, but without batting an eye, Elijah plunged his hand into his chest and ripped his heart out. There was a short pause before two other wolves also tried to zoom towards the stone, but met the same fate. Damon watched with a smirk. Now _this_ was more like it.

Jules quickly fled the room before she, too, was killed, leaving the man holding the chains to the collar. He crouched onto the ground and pulled his jacket over his head in fear. Elijah grabbed onto the back of his hood and dragged him back onto his feet.

"What about you, sweetheart, hmm? You want to take a shot? Yes? No? Yes?" Elijah glanced at Damon. "Where's the girl?"

Damon looked around the room for Jules, but couldn't find her. He shook his head. "I don't know."

"It doesn't really matter."

Elijah punched the man in the face, sending him crashing towards the floor. He stepped over the body and removed the chains that were strapping Damon to the chair.

"You do realize this is the third time I've saved your life now?"

"How do you have the moonstone?" Damon asked instead. "Elowen hid it in a house you aren't invited into."

"Maybe you should ask your girlfriend's lovely mother. She might have the answer to your question."

Elijah grabbed the moonstone, placed it in his pocket and left the house.

A few minutes later, Damon's phone went off. It was Bonnie. He answered it as he started to move the chair he had been chained to back to its original spot.

"So, he planned to kill her all along," he was saying as he finished moving the chair.

"Yeah. The sacrifice is part of Elijah's plan."

"And Elowen?"

"He was going to take her with him this whole time. Luka mentioned her family line had been forced to help Klaus for generations and Rose said that the Originals have been protecting their family for centuries. Maybe this was his way of taking back what he thinks is his."

"Like hell I'll let that happen. Talk to you later."

Alaric started to stir from his spot on the ground. Damon looked down at him.

"Finally. You missed all the fun."

The sound of the front door opening and slamming shut was heard and Esmeralda came barreling into the room. She sighed in relief when she saw Damon standing there and Alaric sitting up.

"Thank god. I thought something was wrong when Ric never showed up. Look, I need to talk to you guys."

"Yes, you do," Damon replied. "Care to tell me why Elijah has the moonstone?"

Alaric had pulled himself onto his feet and furrowed his eyebrows. "Elijah has the moonstone? What?"

Esmeralda sighed. She had been hoping to get to them first. "I think it's time I told you two the truth."

"_Thank you for meeting with me," Elijah told Esmeralda, who was sitting across from him in some coffee shop in downtown Atlanta. She was 7 months pregnant, fresh out of high school and newly married. It was mid July, so temperatures were high and the humidity was almost unbearable. Welcome to the South._

"_When an Original vampire comes knocking at your door, you listen. I have a daughter to worry about and a son soon. I have no room to put them in danger."_

_Elijah calmly shook his head. "I'm not here to put your children at risk. I'm here to warn you."_

_Esmeralda furrowed her eyebrows. "Warn me? About what?"_

"_Klaus."_

_Esmeralda's eyes widened. "Klaus? But, I thought- Elizabeth's grimoire said we were safe from him."_

_Elijah nodded. "It is true that your ancestor Elizabeth placed a cloaking spell on your family so that Klaus couldn't find you. In fact, I helped her do it. I made a promise long ago that I would keep your family safe and I make sure to see my promises through."_

"_Then, why come to me now? What's different this time?"_

"_There's a rumor within the witch community that he's searching for a way to break the cloaking spell. I believe it's so he can use you to help him break another spell that he's been trying and failing to do for centuries."_

"_Why can't he use some other witch? Why come for my family specifically?"_

"_Remember that promise I was talking about? Your ancestor Estefani made a deal with him in 1564. If she helped him find an alternative to his spell, she would pledge her family's loyalty to him and in turn, we would keep her and everyone who came after her safe."_

"_Did she? Find an alternative, I mean."_

"_She found many. None of them worked. She did come exceptionally close, however. The spell includes a human sacrifice of a doppelganger. She tried to recreate the doppelganger gene by impregnating herself and gave birth to a baby girl."_

_Esmeralda's mouth fell open. "Are you saying that she sacrificed her own daughter?"_

_Elijah nodded again. "Yes. Her name was Marisol. In order to prevent herself from being able to do her job, she refused to raise her. Instead, I did."_

_"Marisol?" Esmeralda questioned in confusion. "But she was a Ramirez. Her name should've started with an E. That's how it's always been."_

_"As I was the one left in charge of raising the girl, I was granted permission to name her. Her mother said that due to the nature of which she was born, she wasn't a true Ramirez and therefore the naming tradition didn't apply to her."_

"_Wait, wait," Esmeralda changed the subject as a thought dawned on her. "What about my sister? Why isn't she here, too? This involves her just as much as it involves me."_

"_You're the oldest. First born witches are the strongest, which means Klaus will come for you before he goes for your sister."_

"_So, then, what? What am I supposed to do? Run?"_

"_No. I will stay nearby for the next few months and make sure no harm comes your way. You can trust me, Esmeralda."_

_Esmeralda slowly nodded. "Okay. Don't make me regret it."_

"He stayed true to his word. He hung around for about 6 months after that," Esmeralda explained to Alaric and Damon.

_It was January now. The coffee shop they met at for the first time became a regular occurrence for them. They met up at least once a week. Over time, Elijah and Esmeralda had grown close. Really close. Flirty banter was shared. Compliments were exchanged. Physical touch happened frequently. They'd been mistaken for husband and wife so many times that they'd stopped trying to correct people. Everyone at the coffee shop thought he was Josiah's father. Yeah, it had gotten that "bad". Neither of them seemed to mind._

_Currently, they were walking through the park. Elijah had his arm securely around Esmeralda's waist as she pushed Josiah in his stroller. Elijah had never met Elowen. She was older and wasn't as dependant on her mother anymore like Josiah was. She was usually with Eliana and her then girlfriend, Luna._

"_I haven't heard anything about Klaus in months," Elijah started to speak. Josiah was making gurgling baby noises from his stroller and giggling at the birds that were flying ahead. He was about 4 months now and was probably the most bundled up between the three of them. Esmeralda was so worried that he could catch some kind of cold and it turns out that she'd always been a paranoid mom._

_Esmeralda had been smiling down at Josiah when Elijah spoke. She tore her eyes away from him and looked to Elijah. He hadn't mentioned Klaus ever since they first met and to be honest, she'd forgotten that's why he was here in the first place._

"_Oh. That's a good thing, right?"_

"_Right. It also means that it's time for me to take my leave."_

_Esmeralda slowly came to a stop. Elijah did, too._

"_You can't just… leave. Not after everything- I mean-"_

_Elijah's arm on her waist gently pulled her around so she'd face him. Then, his hand moved to cup her cheek. He smiled softly down at her and swiped his thumb across her face when a tear spilled over her watery eyes._

"_Dear Esmeralda… did you expect me to stay forever? I'm an Original. Setting down roots is not something that is in my vocabulary. I have other duties to take care of."_

"_Take me with you," Esmeralda blurted suddenly. She was sniffling and blinking her tears away. "Me and the kids. They won't be a problem, I promise. Please."_

"_I don't stay in one place too long. Your children don't deserve to be on the move their entire lives. They deserve to have a proper childhood. Besides, what of your sister? Your parents?" Elijah paused. "... Your husband?" He added quietly. He'd often forgotten that he had been watching over a married woman, for she never talked about him. She was so young, no older than 18, and so he never seemed to remember that she had been thrusted into adulthood so early on, despite the fact that Josiah was with them most of the time._

_Esmeralda was already shaking her head. "I don't want marriage, especially not with him. I'm not in love with him anymore. I haven't been since Elowen was born. I love y-"_

"_Please don't finish that sentence."_

"_No, no, let me say it. Just once. I love-"_

_Without any warning, Elijah leaned in and kissed her. More tears fell down Esmeralda's face as they kissed and when he pulled back, he made sure to wipe them all away._

"_Will I ever see you again?" Esmeralda asked with tremble to her voice from crying. Elijah brushed some of her hair behind her ear, which was just as curly as Elowen's and then some, and shook his head._

"_I don't think so. At least, not any time soon. Dear Esmeralda… you will be missed."_

_Elijah leaned in again and this time placed a tender kiss on her forehead. Esmeralda closed her eyes and felt the warmth of his body leave her. When she opened her eyes again, Elijah was gone._

"Wait a damn minute," Damon said when Esmeralda was done. "You mean to tell me you were shacking up with _Elijah_? Seriously?"

Alaric had gone quiet the moment Esmeralda started her story and she glanced at him helplessly. He wouldn't look at her.

"I wasn't 'shacking up' with anybody. It was just the one kiss."

"Yeah, a kiss with a guy you were in love with! I thought you had better taste than that."

"Look, that's not my point! My point is, you can trust him! If you can't do that, trust me, okay?"

"Did you know that Elijah was going to sacrifice Elena anyway?" Damon shot back. "He was going to kidnap Elowen, too. How's that for trusting the guy?"

Esmeralda faltered a little bit. Then, she shook her head. "He wouldn't do that without a reason. He had the opportunity to take me, Josiah and Elowen all those years ago and he didn't do it. Something is different this time and I'll be damned if I don't find out."

**xxxx**

Stefan had just gotten off the phone with Damon, who had filled him in on what Bonnie had told him. He decided to leave out the whole part about Esmeralda being in love with Elijah and how they had a history together because they had bigger things to worry about. Granted, he should've mentioned that Elijah now had the moonstone, but there were more pressing matters at hand.

Toby was sitting on the couch with Elowen, who was still reeling over killing Brady. She had two big blankets wrapped around her, plus Toby's arm, as she sat in front of the fire. Tyler had left hours ago, so it was just Toby, Elowen, Stefan and Elena again. Speaking of Elena, she was sitting in the armchair in the room, her legs tucked under her as she watched Toby and Elowen intently. Truth be told, she was jealous. Toby was supposed to like _her_. Elowen already had Stefan and Damon. She didn't need another person fawning over her.

"That was, um… that was Damon," Stefan announced as he walked into the room. "We need to talk."

"What is it?" Elena asked. Elowen looked up at Stefan, her eyes still devoid of any emotion (after she was done crying, she went right back to being dead to the world), and Toby gave Stefan his attention as well.

"He learned that Elijah's planning for you to die in the sacrifice ritual."

Elena looked down and bit her lip. "I know the deal I made. Elijah's very careful with his words. He promised to protect my friends. He never said a word about me."

"You mean, you knew that you weren't going to survive this?" Toby asked in disbelief.

"If it comes down to the people I love getting killed or me, I know what my choice is gonna be."

A look of hurt crossed Toby's face. "How could… how could you stand out there earlier with me, talking about making memories and planning dates for the future when you don't even expect to have one?"

"I'm sorry, Toby. I'm just trying to keep the people that I love safe."

"No. What you're doing is being a martyr."

A small scowl appeared on Elena's lips. "Why do you care so much anyway? I don't even know you."

Toby abruptly stood up from his spot next to Elowen. "I care because _I like you_, Elena!"

Elena flinched at the volume of his voice.

"We were out there, talking about getting to know each other and now you're gonna throw this in my face? Am I a joke to you?"

"No, I didn't mean-"

"What you're doing isn't heroic. It's tragic."

Toby stormed off and Elowen felt her body moving on its own. She untangled the blankets from her arms and legs, stood up, and followed Toby upstairs. She found him sitting on the bed in the guest room he was supposed to be sleeping in. His head was in his hands and he must've heard her come in, because he scooted over and made room for her. She carefully sat next to him and ran her hand down his back.

"I haven't had the best luck finding someone like you to have in my life after we moved," he spoke up after a moment.. "You were the best friend and girlfriend anyone could ever have. Stefan and Damon are lucky." Toby lifted his head and looked at her. "I thought Elena was different. She seemed different. I feel like an idiot." Toby laughed bitterly.

"... I miss us," he said quietly after a pause. His hand slowly creeped over to hers and interlaced their fingers together. "If I could do it again, I wouldn't have let you go. I would've held onto you like my life depended on it."

"Toby…"

"I know. You don't have to say it. I know."

There was a knock at the door and Elowen quickly pulled her hand away from Toby's. Stefan was standing in the doorway. He had seen that they'd been holding hands and had to stop himself from being jealous. They were best friends. Of course they'd be comfortable doing that sort of thing together. He cleared his throat.

"That wasn't all Damon told me. According to Bonnie, Elijah was planning on leaving after the sacrifice and taking you with him. Elena was right, he's careful with his words. He said he'd keep you safe from Klaus. He never said anything about himself."

Elowen sighed deeply. "I know. I know why, too. Remember when I told you I felt like I knew Elijah?" She waited for Stefan to nod. "Well, I've been getting these premonitions of this little girl, Marisol. I don't know who she is or how she knew Elijah, but she did."

"What does this have to do with you?"

"I'm getting there. This little girl, Marisol, she looks just like me. Not in some uncanny resemblance way. She looks _just like me_, like looking in a mirror."

"... Like a doppelganger."

Elowen nodded. "Mm-hmm. It's like I have her memories. Every time I see Elijah, it triggers the premonitions. So far, I've gathered that something happened to her. Something bad. I don't know how, but she died. I think Elijah wants to find out why I look like her just as much as I do. That's why he wants me."

Toby, who had been quiet this whole time, finally said something. "And you're sure it's not because he wants you to _be_ her? To have her live through you?"

Elowen shook her head. "No, I'm not, but it's the best thing I've got."

Toby and Stefan shared a look and nodded at each other. He stood up and helped Elowen to her feet.

"Look, why don't you get some sleep? It's been a long night and you deserve some rest."

Stefan stepped forward and took Elowen from Toby. "Come on. Let's get you to bed."


	29. Chapter 29

_Johnathan Gilbert and Honoria and Thomas Fell were all sitting in a dining room, enjoying dinner and some wine. They were all laughing at something when suddenly, there was a noise just outside the window._

"_Did you hear that?" Honoria asked worriedly. Thomas stood up and walked over to the window to peer out of it. There was nobody in sight, but still, he walked over and picked up a knife from the table._

"_Stay here," he instructed._

"_No, Thomas," Honoria tried to object, but he turned around and shook his head._

"_It's alright, dear. The vampires are all dead."_

"_Yes, Honoria," Johnathan agreed. "They burned in the church. We're safe now."_

_Thomas walked to the front door and outside. Honoria tried to peer out to find Thomas._

"_Please, Johnathan. I'm worried."_

_Johnathan sighed. "Very well. I shall go, too."_

_He got up from the table and followed Thomas outside. Thomas was in the yard, holding the knife out in defense. Johnathan made his way towards him._

"_I can prove there are no vampires."_

_He pulled out the vampire compass to show Thomas. When nothing happened, he looked relieved. Then, out of nowhere, the compass started to turn wildly. Johnathan looked down at it and tried to follow the direction, but when he looked back at Thomas, he was gone._

"_Thomas? Thomas?!"_

_Johnathan walked down from the porch hurriedly and looked all around, eyes wide with fear. Just behind him, Thomas's body fell from above. Honoria, hearing the noise, came out of the porch and ran towards Thomas's body when she saw it._

"_Thomas!"_

"_No, stay inside!" Johnathan yelled. "Get back in the house!"_

_The unknown vampire closed in on Honoria and quickly bit into her neck, killing her. It tossed her body to the side and advanced on Johnathan. When it came out into the moonlight, it revealed Stefan's face._

Elowen put her head in her hands. Elena was reading the stupid Johnathan Gilbert journals in the living room and every few minutes, she'd get a premonition of whatever she was reading. There was a headache building behind her eyes and she couldn't find any aspirin. Toby put a comforting hand on her back.

"You okay?" He asked. Elowen shook her head.

"No. I'll live, I guess."

She glanced outside, where Stefan was talking outside on the dock.

"I need some air. Don't wait up."

**xxxx**

Jenna was taking Elijah to see some of the historical sights in town and had dragged Esmeralda along somehow. She was standing awfully far away from Elijah and tried to keep her distance. Truth be told, she wasn't sure if she could control herself if she were any closer. Yes, she may have been dating Alaric, but once upon a time, she was _in love_ with Elijah. You don't just forget that sort of thing.

"The old Fell property actually starts just beyond that fence," Jenna was saying. Elijah let out a small laugh.

"Ah, the Fells. One of the 'founding families'."

Jenna furrowed her eyebrows. "Why do you say it like that?"

"The founding families weren't the first to settle here," Esmeralda answered without thinking of it. Jenna and Elijah's eyes turned to her and she shifted uncomfortably. Whoops. "When I first moved here, I was curious. Maybe it was the writer in me. Anyway, my research showed me that this area was actually settled almost two centuries earlier."

A soft smile crept onto Elijah's lips. Esmeralda had to quickly look away. She knew that smile.

"Very good, Esmeralda," he said. "It was a migration of townsfolk from northeast. Salem, to be precise."

"Massachusetts?" Jenna questioned. "As in the witch trials?"

"Which means that the ever lauded founding families didn't actually found anything."

"Well, I bet it was the men who made a big deal about being founders back in 1860," Jenna continued, not noticing the look Elijah was giving Esmeralda. "Men are very territorial."

They'd stopped walking and Elijah was able to get close enough to gently place his hand on Esmeralda's hip. She tensed and had to stop herself from leaning in towards him. She was trying so hard to deny that she missed this. Missed him. But, boy, did she. She just refused to admit it.

"Yes, they are."

Esmeralda saw Alaric walking towards them and tried to step away, but Elijah's grip tightened on her waist. Alaric noticed Elijah's hand and tried to act as casual as possible.

Jenna smiled at the sight of Alaric and stepped towards him. "Elijah, this is my friend, Alaric Saltzman."

"Yeah, I got your message about walking Elijah here through the old property lines," Alaric said. "I thought I would tag along. You know, being a history buff and all. Where to next?"

"I'm pretty curious about the freed slave property owners," Elijah answered. "Some say, y'know, the descendents of the slaves are the true keepers of American history."

Jenna gestured to the backpack she was wearing. "Well, I only brought the surveys. I got that list in the car. Just gimme a sec."

Jenna walked off towards her car, leaving Elijah, Alaric and Esmeralda alone.

"Alaric Saltzman," Elijah stated. "You're one of the people on Elena's list of loved ones to protect."

"I'd really appreciate it if you kept your hands to yourself," Alaric said instead. A look of intrigue came over Elijah's face. He glanced down at Esmeralda.

"So, this is the man you said you were seeing. Interesting."

Elijah removed his hand from Esmeralda's waist and put it in his pockets. Alaric's jaw clenched.

"You better back off-"

"_Ric_," came Esmeralda's dominating voice.

She'd gotten good at it in her years of being a mom. Alaric shut up and stood down. Elijah watched on with interest. This was surely not the same innocent, naive teenager just beginning her life he'd known 16 years ago. This was a strong, independent 34 year old woman who'd been through a lot of trauma and hardships and came out on top in the end. Elijah had never seen her more alive, more beautiful, than in that moment.

He was a man of honor, which usually meant that he wouldn't pursue a woman who was already taken, but this was the same woman who practically cheated on her husband just to be with him, the same woman who he wouldn't let admit that she loved him aloud, the same woman he knew still felt something for him, and all honor went out the window. Maybe he wouldn't actively make advances on her per se, but he had a feeling that she would break down sooner rather than later, and he would be there when it happened.

"Alright, I've got the list," Jenna announced a few moments later, completely oblivious to what was happening around her. "Let's go."

**xxxx**

Elowen had ended up sitting just outside of the cabin while Stefan paced around on the dock. He'd noticed her, but decided not to approach her. Elowen had been grateful.

They both entered the cabin around the same time. Elena was still rolled up on the couch reading Johnathan Gilbert's journals while Toby was sitting on the opposite side of the room, refusing to acknowledge her presence. Elena jumped when the door opened.

"... Are you still mad?" She asked quietly.

"I think we're all still pretty pissed," Elowen answered. She glanced at Toby. "Some more than others."

Elena followed her line of sight of actually looked like she felt bad. "We have a difference of opinion. We're not always going to agree on everything."

"This isn't just some disagreement about what color to paint the house, Elena," Toby spoke up angrily from his spot on an armchair. "You've agreed to sacrifice yourself to Klaus. To say we simply have a 'difference of opinion' is the understatement of the century."

A strained silence fell over the four of them. Stefan glanced down at the journal in Elena's hand and gestured towards it.

"What does Johnathan Gilbert have to say?"

"A lot," Elena replied. "It's insane the things he wrote in his journal." She handed it over to Stefan, who took it. Elowen peered over his shoulder in curiosity. "Things that he kept from the founding families. Stuff that nobody knows. Stuff that… you never told us."

"I don't see why Stefan would need to divulge in his past with you," Elowen told her. Elena crossed her arms and sunk into herself. She did that a lot when Elowen said things that were true to the situation. It made her look like a little child. It actually irked Elowen a bit. She only caught some of what was written before Stefan closed the journal.

"We were, uhh… we were angry at the founding families for what they did to Katherine," Stefan started to say quietly. "We wanted revenge. I didn't know about Johnathan Gilbert's ring yet. I didn't know that he would…" He trailed off and took a seat across from Elena. Elowen sat down next to him. "... that he would survive."

"He describes you as a monster," Elena replied. She had uncrossed her arms and tried to make herself seem bigger and more confident in her means to fish around for answers to something that didn't really concern her. Stefan either didn't notice or didn't mind.

"That's what I was. I'd rather you hear this from me than some journal. It feels almost like a violation of my privacy if you read it somewhere else." He sighed. "In the weeks after I became a vampire, I relished in it. I took it to the darkest place I could."

Elowen made a face of disdain as he started his story. Stefan saw this, paused and turned to her.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

She shrugged. "It's just, whenever you tell these stories, I see them play out in my head and if I have too many premonitions in one go, it gives me really bad headaches."

Stefan nodded his head and kissed her forehead. "Alright. I won't say anything."

Elena leaned forward in protest. "Wait! But-"

"You heard him, Elena," Toby commented hotly. "Read about it in the stupid journal if you're so curious."

Elena shut up. She didn't like the tone Toby was using on her, but really, could she blame him?

"Fine," she grumbled and snatched the journal off of the table.

Elowen got up and walked back towards the sliding door. Stefan followed her. They ended up on the dock. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Elowen broke it.

"Y'know… I'm actually a little curious." She turned her head to face him. "About the story you were gonna tell."

Stefan sighed loudly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Are you sure you want to hear it? I mean, like you said, the headaches-"

"I only said that because I didn't like how Elena was putting her nose in a place she shouldn't have been snooping in. I can handle the headaches."

Stefan let out a small laugh. "Well, I wasn't gonna say anything, but I didn't like it, either. It's not really her business."

"Exactly." Elowen looked away from Stefan and out at the water. "So, storytime?"

_Stefan was sitting on the couch inside the Salvatore Estate in 1864. There was a woman draped over him as he drank her blood. He pulled away from her neck when it became apparent that she was dead and there was nothing left to drink. There were three other women in the room; two of them were dancing while the third was playing the piano._

"_Who wants to die next?" Stefan asked as he stood up. The two women who were dancing eagerly dashed over to him._

"_Me! I'm next!"_

"_Me! You promised me!"_

_Stefan grabbed each of their chins and lifted their heads to expose their necks. He stepped away and over to the woman playing the piano._

"_What about you? You know, if you don't pick up the tempo, you're going to lose your head. Snap, snap!"_

_She changed songs and started to play something much more upbeat. Stefan rushed back over to one of the other women and sank his fangs into her throat. Damon chose this moment to walk into the room._

"_Company, brother?"_

_Stefan pulled away from the woman's neck to look at Damon. "I brought enough to share." He tossed the second girl in Damon's direction, who caught her before she crashed and fell over._

"_Are you mad bringing them here when the entire town is hunting us?"_

"_Damon, if you're worried about the founding families, please don't be. They're all dead or about to be."_

_Without so much as another glance in Damon's direction, Stefan resumed his drinking from the woman still in his arms. Damon took hold of the woman Stefan had thrown him and started to compel her._

"_Leave this place. Never think of it again."_

_As she left, Damon crossed the room and tore the woman Stefan was drinking from away and did the same for her. Stefan growled._

"_Same for you. Leave this place. Never think of it again."_

"_Damon, don't be like this. I'm just having some fun."_

"_Staying alive is more fun, Stefan. We have to be more careful than this. More clever. Like Katherine was."_

"_Look where that got her."_

_A short silence passed over them as that had felt like a slap to the face for Damon. He changed the subject before anything got too ugly._

"_I'm done here. With you. I'm leaving town."_

_Damon walked passed Stefan, who quickly scrambled after him. He grabbed him by the shoulders to stop him from going any further._

"_You hate me. I know, I know," Stefan said frantically. "An eternity of misery and on and on. I know, but you don't have to leave town. Damon, I'll do better. I promise."_

"_No, you will get us killed. I'd rather leave you to do that to yourself."_

_Stefan was visibly upset, but Damon didn't care. He pushed Stefan away and left the room._

"I wasn't myself then," Stefan in present time told Elowen. They were sitting with their feet dangling over the side of the dock, with his arm still wrapped around her shoulders. Elowen's head was resting in the crook of his neck. "I was full of guilt. What I did to my father, my brother. I had to turn it off. It was the only way I could survive."

"It almost sounds like you were Damon when he first came to town."

"I was worse. Much worse."

**xxxx**

Alaric and Damon were sitting alone at a booth in The Grill. They were talking about Alaric's trip to see Jenna, Esmeralda and Elijah from earlier that day.

"Other than your lecture on the history of Mystic Falls, did you get anything out of Elijah?" Damon asked. Alaric shook his head.

"No, it was boring. Of course, Jenna thinks he's charming and Esmeralda… well, let's just say she's trying really hard to not look his way."

"You sounded almost jealous. I'd be, too, if I found out my girlfriend was in love with someone as impressive as an Original. I wouldn't even stand a chance."

"Thanks for the words of encouragement."

In that moment, Andie Star, news reporter who really didn't know how to take a goddamn hint, came up to the table with a smile. Damon immediately groaned at the sight of her. She faltered at the sight of his reaction.

"Look, will you give it a rest?" Damon questioned rhetorically. "I already told you, I have a girlfriend."

"I thought that maybe you were just saying that to get me to go away," Andie replied. "I don't give up easily."

"Well, maybe you should."

"You're friends with Jenna, right?" Alaric asked. Andie nodded. "Okay, I'll put this nicely, then. Damon here is _very much_ taken and I think he'd greatly appreciate it if you walked back to wherever you came from and stayed there."

Damon smiled mockingly at Andie, who still didn't want to seem to back down. She was getting to be really annoying at this point.

"Yeah? And how do I know you aren't just his buddy backing him up to be a good friend?"

"Because I'm dating his girlfriend's mom."

Andie blinked in surprise. "His _girlfriend's mom_? Wha- How old is your girlfriend?"

"Ah-ha! You finally admit that I have a girlfriend. Goodbye now."

Andie didn't move, either too starstruck at this new piece of information or just being her normal, irritating self. Damon spotted Jenna, Esmeralda and Elijah entering The Grill and nodded in their direction. Alaric turned to look.

"There's Esmeralda with her new-old boyfriend. Hi, guys."

The three of them walked up to their table. Esmeralda had made sure that Jenna stood in between her and Elijah.

"Hey!" Jenna greeted towards Alaric. She completely disregarded Damon. She saw Andie standing there and tilted her head. "Andie? What are you doing here?"

"Trying way too hard to score a date with me," Damon replied, setting his chin in his hands.

"I told you not to bother," Jenna told her. "He's not worth it."

"I do believe he also has a girlfriend," Elijah commented. "Don't you, Damon?"

Damon gestured to Elijah. "See? Even he knows I have a girlfriend."

Jenna looked almost shocked. "Someone is willingly dating you?"

"Oh, you mean you haven't heard?" Damon asked with a smirk. "Funny, considering your nephew is best friends with her brother."

Jenna's eyes became the size of two saucers. "_Elowen_? But, I thought she was with Stefan!"

Damon shrugged nonchalantly. "It's complicated."

Jenna looked at Esmeralda, absolutely flabbergasted. "And you mean to tell me that you're okay with this?"

Esmeralda shrugged helplessly. "Like Damon said, it's complicated. Just know that I would never let her do anything I thought would put her in any danger. I trust them."

"As much as I'd like to continue this awkward discovery, I've got papers to grade." Alaric put some money down on the table and got up. Esmeralda opened and closed her mouth as she watched him go. She knew he was feeling jealous and slightly betrayed ever since she told him about her history with Elijah. She felt it. Sometimes, she really hated being an empath.

"No, you know what?" Jenna spoke up before she could get a word out. "Surprising news aside, we should do something. Like a dinner party."

"Ooh, what a good idea," Damon noted. "I'll be happy to host. Say, tonight, maybe?"

"Tonight's good for me," Jenna replied. "Esmeralda?"

Esmeralda tore her eyes away from Alaric. "Huh? Oh, yeah, tonight works fine. Elowen's still with Stefan and Josiah said something about spending the night with Caroline."

Damon glanced at Andie. "If you're still so adamant about flirting with me, you can come, too."

She looked caught off guard, but Elijah spoke up before she could respond.

"It'd be a pleasure."

"I don't know if tonight works…" Alaric started to say, but trailed off.

Esmeralda's hopeful eyes were watching him carefully and he found it hard to say no. Besides, did he really want to leave her alone with Elijah? As he was thinking this over, Esmeralda thought of a way to maybe make him say yes. It was a dirty trick, she knew this, but she did it anyway. Inching towards Elijah, she let her hand brush up against his. Without any hesitation, Elijah, as subtly as possible, caressed her fingers with his own. She knew Alaric saw this based off of how he clenched his jaw and the new wave of jealousy and anger flaring through her chest.

"You know what?" He said tightly. "Tonight works great."

"Perfect!" Damon exclaimed. "See you all tonight, then."

**xxxx**

The sun was starting to go down and it was starting to get a little chilly. It was that time of the year where the weather fluctuated between warm and cold before it finally decided on a temperature. Elowen snuggled farther into Stefan's arms.

"For weeks, I kept spiraling," Stefan was telling her. "I was completely driven by the desire for blood. Hunt, prey, kill. That was all I knew."

"And you mean to tell me that nobody caught on? I mean, the founding families seemed pretty on top of it the first time around."

"There was a war going on. The thing about war time. Endless, anonymous blood supply."

_A camp set up for the sick and injured men who were fighting in the Civil War was set up somewhere in the woods. Stefan was drinking the blood of a man who was already dead. He looked up and saw a hooded woman feeding a bowl of soup to a different injured soldier. She stood up and walked farther into the woods. Stefan stood as well and followed her, stalking her. The woman paused, sensing someone behind her, and turned to look. Stefan quickly sped out of her sight. Seeing nobody, she continued on._

_Stefan chose this moment to drop down on her, but being older and faster, the woman caught Stefan and pinned him to the ground. The hood fell off and revealed Lexi._

"_What kind of an idiot are you?"_

"Alexia Branson, as she was known back then."

"Alexia? You mean Lexi?" Elowen asked. "That's how you met her? What was she even doing in Mystic Falls?"

"She had heard it was a good place for vampires. You know, had no idea that they'd all been massacred. Needed a place to crash, so I brought her home with me."

Elowen let out a small groan and rubbed at her temple with the heel of her palm. Stefan looked down at her and brushed some hair out of her face.

"You okay?" He asked quietly. "I can stop."

Elowen shook her head. "No. You're not done yet. I'm fine."

Stefan nodded and continued his story.

_Stefan and Lexi entered the Salvatore Estate._

"_I'd say it isn't necessary to take me in, but you did try to eat me, and, well, with dawn coming, beggars can't be choosers." Lexi walked farther in and saw all of the dead bodies lying around the parlor. "Or should they be?"_

"_I, um… I meant to dispose of those."_

"_My god, you're a ripper."_

"_A what?"_

"_There are good parts of being a vampire and there are bad parts. You're the bad parts. Well, we're going to have to change that."_

Elowen sat up straight as a bad feeling washed over her. Stefan furrowed his eyebrows and watched as she detangled herself from his arms and start rushing back towards the cabin. He quickly got up and followed her.

"Elowen? What's wrong?"

"I don't know," she answered, but continued towards the house and didn't stop until she was upstairs and had her phone in her hands. Stefan was right behind her. Even Toby had followed when he saw her on a mission. They were both standing in the doorway and were watching her as she punched a phone number into her phone. She didn't even know who's number it was. It just popped into her head.

"Gimme a moment," she told Stefan and Toby, who both looked like she were about to protest. "Please. I think this is important."

They looked at each other, but left the room anyway. She pressed the call button and listened to the line ring. The line connected as they other person answered.

"May I ask who is calling?" Elijah's voice rang out on the other line. Elowen's eyes widened. She glanced out into the hall, where Stefan was no doubt listening in. Thinking on her toes, she quickly switched into Spanish and hoped to god Elijah would be able to understand her.

"It's Elowen. Please tell me you speak Spanish."

There was a pause and Elowen anxiously waited for Elijah to say something. Truthfully, Elijah was truly taken off guard at the sound of her voice and it took him a moment to recover.

"Of course I do," he said at last, now speaking Spanish. "I've been alive for a millennium. You pick up a few things after awhile. How did you get your hands on this number?"

"I don't know," Elowen answered honestly. "It's hard to explain."

"Hmm. In that case, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I can't really explain, but something bad is going to happen tonight and it includes you. I don't know what it is, but please be careful."

"Huh."

"What?"

"You have no reason to help me, yet here you are. Why is that?"

"I have questions and you have answers."

It was only a half lie. It was true. He could tell her about Marisol, but something in her wanted him to stay safe. She didn't want to see him get hurt. Maybe he could help her understand that, too.

"... I see. Very well. Before I let you go, I do have a question for you."

"I'll only answer it if you tell me something about her."

"Funny you say that, because my question is about her."

"What do you mean?"

"Marisol possessed the power of premonition. She knew things she never quite understood and saw things she wasn't always keen on sharing. Do you, perhaps, share her power?"

There was a pause. Finally, Elowen answered. "Yes. It's how I knew your number and how I know something is going to happen. It's also how I found out about her in the first place."

"I see. Well, regardless of the reason, thank you for the tip. I shall be careful tonight."

"Wait," Elowen said quickly before he could hang up. "You said I had your word that you would tell me about her."

"And I will, in due time. Right now, I have other matters to address. Take care, Elowen."

The line went dead, signaling the call was over. Stefan carefully crept back into the room again when he stopped hearing voices, followed by Toby.

"Who was that?" He asked. The voice sounded so familiar to him, yet he couldn't place it. Elowen tucked her phone into her pocket and shook her head.

"Nobody. Family from Puerto Rico. I thought something had happened, but I was wrong."

Stefan nodded his head. "Alright. I'll wait for you outside."

As Stefan left, Toby dropped his voice.

"I thought you didn't know any of your family that still lived in Puerto Rico."

"I don't. He doesn't need to know that."

Toby shot her a look, but dropped it. He led Elowen back downstairs and let her go back outside with Stefan.

**xxxx**

Jenna, Esmeralda and Andie, who really didn't need to be there, but showed up anyway, were all setting up the table.

"So, what's going on with you and Alaric?" Jenna asked Esmeralda. "I feel like there's some tension."

Esmeralda forced a small smile. "Nothing. It's noth…" She trailed off when Jenna shot her a pointed look. Jenna was really her only friend in town and by default, was the person she told a lot of things. Esmeralda sighed. "It's just… Lemme put it this way. Somebody from my past has recently come back into my life and Ric doesn't like it."

"Ooh," Andie cut in. "Juicy. Ex boyfriend, maybe?"

"You could say something like that."

In the library, Damon and Alaric were talking.

"This is a bad idea," Alaric was saying. Damon rolled his eyes.

"There's no such thing as a bad idea. Just poorly executed awesome ones. Here." He tried to hand Alaric a glass of bourbon, but he refused it.

"No. I really don't like the idea of Elijah being in the same house as Esmeralda. She obviously has a soft spot for him."

"You're sounding jealous again, Ric," Damon said with a sing song voice. Alaric scowled at him. "Besides, there's a reason she's not in here. I'm not filling her in on the plan. She'll just ruin it."

"She'll also know you're up to something in a heartbeat. She's an empath, remember? She can sniff out lies like that." He snapped his fingers. "Between her and Elowen, I don't know who's worse."

"Look, everyone is perfectly safe. It's just a fact finding mission. It's totally harmless."

"Just a fact finding mission?"

"Yeah."

"Listen, no sneak attacks. No surprise plans. Nothing that's gonna put anyone in harm's way. Okay?"

"Scouts honor."

Alaric still looked suspicious, but Andie entered the room and interrupted them.

"Hey, Jenna and Esmeralda need help with the wine."

Damon smiled at Alaric and patted his shoulder. He shot Damon one last look before walking up the stairs and leaving. Damon took a sip of the drink he'd prepared for Alaric and walked towards Andie. He grabbed onto her shoulders and started to compel her.

"You're to keep quiet about what I'm about to show you and do what I tell you. Okay?"

When Andie nodded, Damon peered out of the room to make sure Alaric was really gone, then walked over to a small trunk and opened it. He pulled out the silver dagger and the little bottle containing the white oak ash from inside.

"What's that?" She asked.

"Dessert." Damon dipped the dagger into the ash. "Elijah's stronger than me. Faster than me. It's all about the element of surprise."

"Aw, it's too bad. I like him. He's very old school. Classy."

"Which is why you should encourage the gentleman to take their after dinner drinks in here while you do coffee in the kitchen with the girls. I need help if this plan is going to work and Ric wants nothing to do with this. Esmeralda is too emotionally involved and Jenna, well… if I did so much as look at her, I'd get reamed. You, on the other hand, I don't care about, so you're the perfect candidate."

Damon placed the dagger with the glasses and all the bottles of alcohol, hiding it from view. Andie watched on.

"Hmm. That's a little too sexist for me."

"Stop talking."

The doorbell rang and Jenna went over to answer it. John was on the other side of the threshold. Damon came out of the library as John stepped inside.

"Who invited him?" Jenna asked distastefully.

"John. Surprise. Leave," Damon told him.

"When Jenna told me she was coming to a dinner party for Elijah, I decided I couldn't miss out on all the fun and games."

Alaric walked in, saw John and stopped.

"There aren't going to be any games tonight, John," he said. "It's just a friendly dinner party."

John looked between Alaric and Damon.

"Well, then, it shouldn't be a problem if I join."

He closed the door behind himself and walked into the house. Alaric, Jenna and Damon all shared identical looks of contempt.


	30. Chapter 30

Damon opened the front door. Elijah was standing on the other side.

"Good evening," he greeted.

"Thank you for coming," Damon said. "Please, come in."

"Just one moment." Elowen's warning from earlier rang through his head. "Can I just say that if you have less than honorable intentions about how this evening is going to proceed, I suggest you reconsider."

"No, nothing dishonorable. Just getting to know you."

"I hope you're correct, because I have intel that says otherwise."

Damon furrowed his eyebrows. "Intel? What-" A scowl set onto his face when realization dawned on him. "You stay away from her."

"Funny how you assume it's Elowen I'm talking about. Smart girl, might I say. Maybe you should check to see where her alliance lies." Elijah stepped into the house. "Just so you know, if you so much as make a move to cross me, I'll kill you and I'll kill everyone in this house. Are we clear?"

"I'd say yes, but the problem with that is you wouldn't dare lay not even a finger on Esmeralda."

Elijah straightened his jacket. "You may be right there, but that doesn't mean I won't hesitate to tear your head from your body. I won't ask again. Are we clear?"

"Crystal."

At the dining table, Elijah had somehow managed to snag a seat next to Esmeralda. Alaric was sitting on the other side of her and she could already feel herself growing nauseous because of the big amounts of jealousy and anger she was feeling from Alaric. There was something else buried there, though. Worry. Nervousness. Where was that coming from? She saw him glance at Damon uncertainly and wondered if he had anything to do with it.

"I hate to break it to you, Damon, but according to Elijah and Esmeralda both, your family is so not a founder of this town," Jenna was telling them all as she poured a glass of wine.

"Hmm, do tell," Damon said with faux interest.

"Well, as I mentioned to Jenna earlier, a faction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690s," Elijah started to explain. "Over the next hundred years, they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution."

"Mm-hmm," Jenna hummed. "Because they were witches."

"Yeah, but there's no tangible proof there were witches in Salem," Andie cut in. "I'm a journalist. It's literally my job to know these things."

Esmeralda cleared her throat loudly so the attention was on her. "The lore says that there was this wave of anti witch hysteria. It broke out in the neighboring settlement, so the witches were rounded up. They were tied to stakes in a field together and, well, burned."

Elijah nodded in agreement. "Some say you could hear the screams from miles around us. They were consumed by the fire."

"I wouldn't repeat this to the Historical Society," Jenna joked.

"It's starting to sound a little like a ghost story to me," John commented.

"So, why do you want to know the location of these alleged massacres?" Damon asked.

"You know… a healthy historian's curiosity, of course," Elijah replied.

Damon smiled. "Of course."

**xxxx**

Stefan and Elowen had decided to come back in the cabin when it got a little too cold outside. Toby's eyes met Elowen's and she had to look away because they held a judgemental look to them. He knew she lied about who she called and he knew she wasn't going to tell Stefan the truth about who had been on the phone. He also knew, however, that he was going to cover for her, just like he always did, and that he wouldn't say anything, either.

Elena had been reading the Johnathan Gilbert journals just about all day. Toby had busied himself while Elowen and Stefan had been outside, because he refused to talk to her, but now they were back inside and Elena finally spoke up now that everyone was in the house.

"Johnathan Gilbert got crazier and crazier. I guess that's what happens when you spend your life obsessed with vampires."

Nobody in the room seemed to acknowledge that she said anything. She set the current journal down, picked up another and began to read. Her eyebrows started to furrow together the further she got through the page, though.

"He researched the Originals."

This got everyone's attention.

"You're kidding." Stefan walked over to the couch she was on and peered over her shoulder. Elowen and Toby gathered there as well. Elena positioned the journal so it was where they could all see what the page said.

"Later in life. Look. Pages and pages of questions and scribbles."

She continued to flip through the pages and eventually stopped on one that had a drawing of a silver dagger on it. Toby and Stefan shared a look. They both knew exactly what this was. Elowen and Elena, on the other hand, stared at it in confusion. Elowen started to read the passage aloud.

"'The wood from one tree and one tree alone, an ancient white oak, would bring death to an Original vampire. When the tree burned, all hope was thought lost'. He was trying to figure out how to kill an Original." She kept going. "'But, the ash from the tree was saved and witches forged a dagger to which the ash could be bonded. This alchemic bond provides the necessary poison'."

"I wonder if this is true," Elena voiced out loud when Elowen was done reading. "I mean, do you think this dagger actually exists?"

Stefan had taken a few steps back from the couch and rubbed the back of his neck. "I know it does…" He glanced at Toby. "We both do."

"John gave it to Damon," Toby explained. "I was there when it happened." Elowen's face started to morph into one of anger and he quickly started to defend himself. "If I'd known they were gonna keep it from you, I would've said something! You know I wouldn't lie to you on purpose."

Elowen turned her fury onto Stefan, who simply braced himself for impact. "You kept this from me? How could you?"

"If it means keeping you safe, then Elijah has to die. I didn't tell you because I know you have some sort of soft spot for him and I knew you'd object."

"Because he has answers, Stefan! Not knowing who Marisol was, why I look like her and how she knew Elijah in the first place is eating me alive!"

"It's more than that and you know it. Something about this Marisol girl is pushing you to side with Elijah and help him. You were willing to go with him when Rose tried to pawn you off and you were so adamant that he wasn't dead when Damon tried to kill him the first time. It was almost as if you were in denial, like you didn't want him to be dead. I don't know what's going on with you, but I _will not _let Elijah take you, even if it means having to lock you up so you don't do anything stupid."

"_Anything stupid_? You think I'm being stupid? I want answers and I'll do whatever it takes to get them. Sorry for not wanting to sit back and do nothing."

"Guys," Elena softly interrupted. "Listen to this. 'It must be brandished by humans alone, for it will bring death to all demons who wield it'."

Stefan grabbed the journal from Elena and read the passage over as if what she said hadn't been true. He tossed the journal down, whipped out his phone and started to dial Damon.

"John's trying to get Damon killed."

Everyone watched on in confusion and worry. Apparently, Damon didn't answer, because Stefan was leaving a message instead.

"Why is your phone off? Call me."

"Try Ric," Elowen suggested quickly. "He might answer."

She wasn't sure what was going on, but hearing 'Damon' and 'killed' in the same sentence was usually never a good thing, especially if he was the victim. She just wanted to make sure he was okay first.

"What's going on?" Elena asked as Stefan looked through his contacts for Alaric's number.

"Damon is planning on killing Elijah. Tonight."

**xxxx**

Damon looked at Andie to give her the cue as everyone started getting up from the table. She understood and started to speak.

"The gentlemen should take their drinks in the study."

"I have to say, the food was almost as wonderful as the company," Elijah said.

Andie smiled. "I like you."

Jenna picked up some of the plates from the table and handed them off to John. More like shoved them into his hands. "Here you are, gentleman. Make yourself useful, hmm?"

John walked off towards the kitchen. Esmeralda had a few plates in her hands herself and Alaric came up behind her. For the first time that evening, he actually said something to her. He reached over and took the plates from her.

"Here, I got it."

Esmeralda felt relief and some hope that he would come back around flood her chest. She smiled. "Thanks."

In the kitchen, Alaric's phone started to ring. He set the plates in the sink and answered it. Stefan was on the other line, frantically spouting what sounded like nonsense at first.

"Slow down, slow down. What's going on?"

He heard Stefan take a deep breath. "Damon will die if he uses the dagger on Elijah. You've gotta stop him."

Alaric was already moving towards the library, ignoring John's suspicious looks. "Got it."

He hung up and picked up speed, catching Esmeralda's attention. She furrowed her eyebrows as feelings of hurried frenzy settled in the pit of her stomach. Something was definitely going on. By the time she made it to the library, however, Elijah was leaving the room. She stopped short. They hadn't been caught alone the entire evening and Esmeralda would've liked to keep it that way. Guess not.

"Esmeralda," Elijah acknowledged, bowing his head. "You look lovely tonight." She didn't say anything and only watched as he grabbed her hand, brought it up to his mouth and placed a kiss to the back of it. If she could get away with kissing him right then and there, she would've done it. Of course, she felt guilty for thinking such a thing, especially with Alaric in the next room over.

"Thank you," she finally managed to get out. Naturally, Alaric came out of the library at that moment and saw her hand in Elijah's and scowled. She saw him and quickly snatched her hand back. She cleared her throat and took a step back.

"Somebody said something about dessert," Elijah said to break the tension. "I should assume that we're all heading back to the dining room." He walked off, leaving Alaric and Esmeralda by themselves.

"What the hell is going on?" She asked immediately in a whisper. "And don't say nothing. You're hiding something."

Alaric inwardly groaned. He was hoping she wouldn't have caught on, but really, who was he kidding. "Trust me, you don't want to know. You'll be upset if I tell you."

Esmeralda put her hands on her hips. "Are you kidding me? You're lying to me right now?" She scoffed and shook her head. "It's bad enough you've been a big ball of jealousy tonight when you have no reason to be, and now you're keeping things a secret? You know what," she threw her hands up, "I don't care. Come back when you're ready to act like an adult."

Esmeralda left as Damon emerged from the library. He saw her retreating form and Alaric's face. He whistled and pat Alaric's shoulder.

"Trouble in paradise?"

"Shut up."

When they made it back to the dining room, Jenna had just gone back to the kitchen, while John and Esmeralda were seated back at the table. Andie said something about wanting to ask Elijah some questions, but nobody was really paying much attention. Damon took a seat and glared at John. Of course he was trying to double cross him.

"Ric, would you do me a favor and grab the notebook out of my bag?" Andie asked. Alaric walked over to her bag while everyone else kept talking.

"Elijah, did John tell you that he's Elena's uncle slash father?" Damon asked.

"Yes, I'm well aware of that," Elijah replied.

"Of course, she hates him, so there's absolutely no need to keep him on the endangered species list."

Andie looked over at Alaric and sighed. "No, it's in the front pocket. On the- You know what? Excuse me, guys. Sorry."

Andie stood up and went over to Alaric to help him find her notebook.

"What I'd like to know, Elijah, is how do you intend on killing Klaus?" John questioned.

"Gentlemen, there's a few things we should probably get clear right now. I allow you to live solely to keep an eye on Elena, and, of course, Elowen." Elijah cast a glance at Esmeralda. "I allow the two girls to remain in their houses and live their lives with their friends as they do as a courtesy. If you become a liability, I'll take them both away from you and you'll never see them again."

Andie came back with her notebook and took her seat again. "Okay. My first question is when you got here to Mystic-"

Alaric came up behind Elijah and stabbed him in the heart through the back of the chair he was sitting in. Elijah screamed in pain as his skin turned grey and he died. Esmeralda had also screamed, but instead in complete shock. She started breathing fast as she stood up from her chair, nearly knocking it over in the process and dashed over to Elijah's body. His head lolled to the side when she grabbed onto his shoulders and she had to stop her eyes from watering.

"What the hell?" She hissed loudly. "Are you insane?! There was no reason to kill him! He was our only shot to kill Klaus and trust me when I tell you that he's the bigger threat."

"He just took care of our entire problem," Damon said nonchalantly. He was walking over to Andie to compel her to forget what had just happened. "He's dead, Klaus will never know anything, Elena doesn't die and Elowen stays here. Ta-dah."

Esmeralda looked down at Elijah as she pulled his body into her arms. Damon sighed dramatically.

"Oh, don't put on that face. You're just upset because you were in love with him."

"I'm not in love with him," Esmeralda bit out through clenched teeth. She wasn't sure if she was telling the truth. Was she still in love with him? It was very likely.

"Sorry to interrupt," John interjected. "But we should probably get rid of him before Jenna comes back with dessert."

"Good idea," Damon agreed. "Ric, care to give me a hand?"

Alaric carefully unwrapped Esmeralda's hands from Elijah and refused to meet her eyes. They were filled with hurt, betrayal, shock and disbelief. Damon came around the table when he was done with Andie and helped hoist him up. They headed in the direction of the cellar.

Esmeralda moved on her own and sat back down at the table calmly. Too calm, considering her reaction to everything. John eyed her suspiciously.

Nobody said anything until Damon and Alaric came back.

**xxxx**

Elowen was standing outside on the balcony. She refused to talk to Stefan and Toby knew better than to try. Stefan decided to chance it and slowly walked out onto the balcony and next to her.

"Elowen, we need to talk about this."

"What good is talking if you and Damon are just gonna lie to me? You know how I am about lying, Stefan. I thought we agreed no lying ages ago."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"That's the thing, though, Stefan. You're not sorry. The story you were telling me, was it just a distraction? Did I fall straight into your trap?"

"No. I was telling you about a time when I thought that everything was lost. When I had given up, because that is exactly what you're doing now."

"I'm not giving up! I just want-"

"Answers. Yeah, I know. You want answers so bad that you're willing to let Elijah take you away. That sounds like giving up to me."

"I never said I was going to let him take me away. You're putting words in my mouth."

"But if that's what it came to, would you? Go with him?"

"Of… of course not! What do you think I am, a martyr?"

"You hesitated."

"What?"

"Just now. You hesitated. At least admit that it's crossed your mind. We both know it has. You _are_ giving up, in some shape or form, and Lexi? She wouldn't let me give up. I'm not gonna let you."

_Stefan and Lexi are walking through a camp filled with injured and dead soldiers._

"_All of these men are dead or dying. What does that make you feel?" Lexi asked._

"_Nothing," Stefan replied. "I feel nothing."_

"_Because you shut out the part of you that was human. The part that lets you feel."_

"_Is that not the point?"_

"_Well, there is a better way. You simply have to want it."_

"_Is it better?"_

"_Not at first. You can't choose what you feel. You have to let it all back in. The pain and the look in their eyes when you took their life. The cries of their loved ones."_

"_Why would I want to do that, hmm?"_

"_Because once you can hurt, you can love. Love, Stefan. That's the point. Everything is intensified when you're a vampire. When we hurt, we really hurt. But when we love…" She trailed off with a smile._

"Lexi showed me that there was another way," Stefan explained when he was done with his story. "And from that day forward, I started fighting for it. For my own survival." Stefan brushed his fingers across Elowen's cheek. "That's all I want you to do. I just want you to fight for it."

"You're not listening to me, Stefan. I'm fighting for what _I_ want, not what you want me to fight for. You want me to fight _against_ Elijah. I want to fight _with_ Elijah, against Klaus. You know, the bigger threat here? Elijah has no reason to harm us unless we harm him first." Elowen sighed. "You're right. I want answers badly and I plan to do what I have to in order to get them, but I would never let him take me away. The fact that you'd even think that just shows me that you've lost faith in me, Stefan. I can do this by myself. It's what I've done since I was 12 and it's what I plan to do now."

"That's the thing, though, Elle. You don't have to do it alone anymore."

"The problem is, unless I do it your way, I have no choice but to do it myself. You're not willing to help me, Stefan. All I want is answers. Is that too much to ask for?"

Elowen grabbed onto his hand that was still on her cheek and pulled it down. She stared at him for a moment before she left and went back inside, leaving Stefan outside by himself.

**xxxx**

Elowen's phone rang a little while later. She had retreated into the room she had been staying in while Stefan, Elena and Toby stayed downstairs. She recognized the number as the one she called earlier and knew it was Elijah.

"Is it safe for me to speak?" He asked when she answered the phone. She got up, went to the bathroom and turned on the sink.

"It should be now," she replied.

"I'm going to assume you had nothing to do with tonight's events, considering you tried to warn me. Am I correct?"

"Yes. I didn't even know they had the dagger until an hour ago. I promise."

"I believe you. Now, do you mind telling me where you and the doppelganger are residing? Your lovely little boyfriend Damon broke the deal and I told them what would happen if it came to this. I'm sorry to say that I'm going to have to take you and Elena away with me."

"Why me? I know why you need Elena, but why me? Protecting me was part of the deal and you just said the deal is broken."

"I think you know exactly why. You just want to hear me say it."

"Then say it. Say it's because of her."

"It's true you share a resemblance-"

"It's more than just a resemblance and you know it. You want to know why I look like her just as much as I do. Am I a doppelganger like Elena? Is that it?"

"I believe it's something else. Something we can find out together if you come with me. I'll take you by force if I have to."

"I'm not her. I'm not Marisol. You can't force me to be her. Whatever relationship you had with her, that's not gonna be me. I want to make that very clear."

"I agree that you are not her and I would never try to make you be something that you're not. Now, I understand that you disagree with what Stefan and Damon are trying to do and I've gathered that you don't want anything to do with their antics. Because of this, I'm willing to strike a deal with you and only you. I will protect you from Klaus and anything he might want to do with you, as long as you come with me. I realize you're very big on family and they're what's holding you back, yes?"

"Yes."

"I'll make sure to protect them, too, so long as they come with as well. I can't do that if they're miles away, can I? I do believe your mother will be more than willing."

Elowen furrowed her eyebrows. "What makes you say that?"

She heard Elijah chuckle. "It's a long story that I'll be sure to fill you in on, but for now, take my word for it."

Elowen thought this over. "I don't know if I can convince my younger brother. He has a girlfriend, Caroline. And my aunt. She has a girlfriend, too. Sydney. What about them?"

"I don't know if I can take that many people. We'll be on the move a lot."

"You either get all of us or none of us."

There was a pause as Elijah considered this. "Very well. You have my word that I'll keep you all safe."

Elowen breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. We're staying at a lake house Elena's parents owned. I'll text you the address."

"Thank you."

"Yeah."

The line ended and for a moment, Elowen stared at her phone. She knew she'd told Stefan she wouldn't let him take her, but she had a feeling he knew she'd been lying, or at least had an inkling of an idea. She came to terms with what she'd done and moved to text Elijah her location.

When she came downstairs, Damon was there. She slowly came to a stop at the bottom of the steps at the sight of him. He spotted her and walked over.

"What are you doing here?" Elowen asked.

"There's no doubt that Elijah is on his way over here as we speak. I'm here to make sure you stay safe."

"He's coming here because you double crossed him like an idiot." Elowen moved past him. "I can keep myself safe."

"Is this about that Marisol chick Stefan so graciously filled me in about? Which, by the way, I'm assuming I was never going to hear about from you. If you want to know about her so badly, ask your mom."

Elowen stopped short and turned back around. "What are you talking about? Why would my mom know about her?"

Damon paused like he'd been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing.

"... You mean you don't know?"

"Don't know what, Damon?"

"Your mom and Elijah have a history together. He watched over her when you were a baby, kept Klaus away from her. He told her a story about your ancestor who tried to help Klaus break the curse without the doppelganger. She tried to recreate the gene and in order to do that, she had to impregnate herself. Her daughter's name was Marisol, Elowen."

"That doesn't tell me why I look like her!"

"Isn't it obvious? The spell must've worked to some extent, which means you're a doppelganger just like Elena."

"No. Doppelganger's are a natural phenomenon of magic. A shadow person. You can't just create a doppelganger by accident."

"And how do you know?"

"I don't. The same way you don't know. Like I told Stefan, I want answers and I'll do whatever it takes to get them."

Before Damon could say anything else, she left. She went out through the front door and sat down on the porch. She would wait for Elijah to show up and hopefully be able to warn him again. If Damon was here, that meant the dagger was, too.

She was outside for maybe 20 minutes when she saw movement in the driveway. Immediately, she stood up and started towards it. It was, of course, Elijah.

"Damon is here," she told him when she reached him. "He's no doubt brought the dagger with him."

"Thank you for the tip. I'll be fine."

"No, he means business this time. He knows not to take the dagger out now."

"And I said I'll be fine."

Elowen walked in front of him and put her hands on his chest. "Why didn't you tell me? About how Marisol was born?"

Elijah actually stopped and looked down at her. "How did you find out about that?"

"Damon told me, who found out from my mom. He said you have a history together. What kind of history?"

"Like I said on the phone, it's a long story that I'll fill you in on later."

Elowen still didn't move out of his way. He sighed, reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the moonstone. Elowen's eyebrows furrowed.

"How did you-"

"Nevermind that." He took her hand and placed it in her palm. "If anything happens to me, which I doubt, keep this safe. You did a good job of it the first time and I expect nothing less from you. Now, would you mind stepping aside?"

Elowen stared at Elijah and then at the stone. She placed it in her back pocket and moved out of the way. Elijah continued his trek towards the house, knelt down about halfway, picked up a handful of rocks and then went on his way. When he reached the door, he threw the rocks at it and broke it off its hinges. Elowen was right behind him.

"You know," he spoke up. "I might not be able to enter this house… But, I'm a very patient man. I'll wait you out."

Elena slowly crept out of her hiding spot. Toby and Stefan were standing off to the side while Damon was somewhere else in the house.

"They shouldn't have done what they did," she said.

"The deal is off," Elijah responded in a monotone voice.

"I'm renegotiating."

"You have nothing left to negotiate with."

There was a moment of silence. Then, Elena pulled a knife out from behind her back. Elijah looked amused and glanced back at Elowen as if to see if she found it as funny as he did.

"I'd like to see you lure Klaus into Mystic Falls after the doppelganger bleeds to death."

"Stefan won't let you die."

"No, he won't. He'll feed me his blood to heal me, and then I'll kill myself and become a vampire, just like Katherine did. So, unless you want that to happen, promise me the same as before. Promise me you won't harm anyone I love, even if they've harmed you."

Elijah, still amused, looked back at Elowen again. "What do you think? Is she bluffing?"

Elowen and Elena stared at each other for a moment. Finally, Elowen nodded.

"She doesn't want to become a vampire. There's no way she'd actually kill herself."

"Yeah?" Elena challenged. "How are you so sure?"

"We may not agree on a lot of things, Elena, but wanting to stay human is one of them. You might have the guts to stab yourself, but you would never let yourself die with vampire blood in your system."

Elena lifted the knife and took a deep breath. She hesitated for a minute before plunging the knife into her stomach. Elijah tried to rush forward, but Elowen quickly grabbed the back of his suit and pulled him back.

"Stay away from the door."

Elena crumpled to the floor, the knife clattering next to her. Elijah's chest rose and fell anxiously, watching her bleed out. He didn't say anything and neither did Elowen. Elena's breathing started to get shallower and shallower and Elijah attempted to step forward again. Elowen caught his arm this time and stopped him.

"So, that's it?" Elena asked weakly. "You're just going to let me die? What about Klaus?"

"He can lure Klaus out with me," Elowen stated from behind Elijah. "My bloodline is just as important to him as the doppelganger is."

"You're sure about this?" Elijah asked Elowen under his breath. She nodded confidently. As if on cue, Stefan came sliding out from his hiding spot, quickly bit into his wrist and pressed it against Elena's mouth.

"See? I told you."

Elijah's shoulders relaxed as he watched Stefan help Elena onto her feet. Elena bent over and retrieved the knife from the ground. Slowly, she held it up to her throat.

"You've already underestimated me once," she said. "Are you sure you want to do it again?"

Elijah swallowed and looked at Elowen again. He was only putting his trust in her decisions because he now knew she held the same power as Marisol and she had never steered him wrong when she had been alive. Elowen nodded at him and he nodded back.

"Go ahead," he told Elena. "Do it."

Elena was breathing shakily and tightly gripped the handle of the knife. After a few moments, she pulled the knife away and dropped it. It fell back onto the ground with a loud clang.

"Come on." Elowen tugged on Elijah's sleeve. "She'll have to come out sometime."

"You go on ahead," Elijah replied. "Pack your things. I'll stay here."

"Pack your things?" Stefan repeated. Confusion, realization and then hurt crossed Stefan's face, in that order. "You mean…? But you said-"

"I lied," Elowen cut him off. "It doesn't feel nice to be lied to, does it?"

"Look, we can figure this out together," Stefan started to say quickly before she could leave. "I promise! I'll help you, I swear! Just please don't go."

"I'm sorry, Stefan. Let's be real here. Running was my only real option. We lure Klaus out and then what? There's only one shot at killing him and there's a chance it won't work. What am I supposed to do then? Elijah can protect me. He's an Original. That's gotta mean something, right?"

"Then, let me come with! Please."

"I hate to break it to you, Stefan," Elijah spoke. "But that was not part of our deal, and even if it was, I wouldn't let you. I can't trust you to not try and kill me again."

"This doesn't make you any better than me," Elena pointed out. "You're giving up before you even tried to fight."

"I know," Elowen responded. "The only difference is I never had a chance. You did."

Suddenly, there was a loud banging noise from somewhere outside. Elijah sighed and turned around.

"You'll never stand a chance. Give it a rest, will you?"

Damon zoomed out into the yard, wielding a bat he must've found somewhere inside the lake house.

"Maybe not, but there's no way I'm letting you take her without a fight."

"Very well. Let's get this over with, shall we?"

"Don't kill him," Elowen said hastily. "Do what you have to, but please don't kill him."

Elijah ignored her and started towards Damon. She tried to rush forward to try and stop it, but someone caught her arm and dragged her inside the house. It was Stefan. Toby was nowhere to be seen. She struggled against his grip, but of course, it was useless.

Damon swung the bat at Elijah, who easily caught it, tore it out of his hands and broke it in half. Damon used this opportunity to punch Elijah in the face, although he wasn't even fazed. As they continued to fight, Toby carefully came into view, holding the dagger in his hands. Elowen saw this, widened her eyes and opened her mouth.

"Elij-"

Stefan covered her mouth with his hand and she started to thrash around in his arms even harder. Elijah was too distracted with Damon that he didn't seem to notice Toby using his own enhanced wolf speed to close in on him.

Elijah had his fingers wrapped around Damon's throat and he sensed Toby last second. He moved to let go of Damon, who grabbed hold of one of the hands that had been around his neck to try and hold Elijah back. Elijah had his eyes on Damon for the fastest second as he pulled his arm back, threw Damon several feet away and turned on Toby. He must've not been fast enough, because Toby reached Elijah and managed to stab him through the heart with the dagger. Elowen screamed through Stefan's hand and watched as the scene melted into something else.

"_Come, we must run," said the man Elowen remembered was named Kol said. His hand tightly held onto Marisol's as he pulled her through the trees._

"_But, the sacrifice is tonight," Marisol told him. "I can't miss it. Nik will be mad."_

"_Screw what he thinks. You deserve to live."_

"_That's not what I was born for. I'm supposed to die. That's how it's always been."_

"_Are you even listening to yourself? They've brainwashed you into thinking that's what your purpose is. It's not. You can have a life, Marisol. Children. Don't you want children?"_

_Marisol paused._ "_I never thought about it."_

_Kol continued leading Marisol through a little village somewhere in Puerto Rico. The village was dead. It was early morning and nobody was awake yet. Kol had awoken Marisol before the sun had risen and was trying to get her away before Elijah and Klaus woke. She was in nothing but a white nightgown, but Kol had told her he'd get her proper clothes once they were safe._

"_You've never thought about many things because you were never given the opportunity. Please, hurry."_

_He could only go so fast since she was human, and he was in such a frenzy that he didn't think to pick her up and speed away._

"_Kol, I need to stop. I can't breathe."_

_It was true. Marisol was completely out of breath and she was having a hard time keeping up. Kol stopped and took hold of her face._

"_Don't you want to be free? You've never even thought about what life would be like away from here? Never?"_

_Marisol panted loudly and could only bring herself to shake her head. Kol sighed._

"_I'm going to make sure you live, Marisol, even if it's that last thing I do."_

_He leaned in to kiss her, but was abruptly jerked away by two men who appeared to be compelled. They dragged him away from Marisol and Elijah and a man Elowen didn't know the name of came into view. Elowen assumed this was Nik._

"_Oh, it'll be the last thing you do, alright," Nik spoke tauntingly. He was brandishing a dagger in his hand and approached Kol. Marisol tried to run forward, but Elijah gently grabbed onto her arms._

"_No! No, leave him alone!" Marisol screamed. "Leave him alone! Kol!"_

"_You need to run, Marisol!" Kol yelled back. "Please, run!"_

"_She'll be going nowhere, Kol." Nik was standing over Kol now and grabbed him by the throat before he could push the two men off. Marisol let out another scream. She watched helplessly as Nik thrust the dagger through Kol's heart, exactly where it had been when she'd found him in his coffin a month or so prior. His skin started to turn grey and he slowly went limp._

"_Kol!" Marisol shouted. "Kol! No! Let me go! Kol!"_

"Kol!" Elowen cried, though it was muffled through Stefan's hand. In his short bout of confusion (who was Kol?), he let her go and she sailed forward. She made it about halfway before Damon caught her.

"Kol! No!" She yelled again, fighting against his grip. Damon looked down at her with furrowed eyebrows and looked at Stefan, who was just as lost as he was. Even Toby looked like he was thrown for a loop.

"Wen, who's Kol? What are you talking about?" Damon asked, but instead of getting an answer, Elowen turned her wide eyes onto him and started trying to pry his hands off of her in an attempt to run away.

"Who are you?! Let go of me!" She stamped her foot down on his and caught him off guard enough for him to let her go. She ran off and stopped short when she saw Elijah's body. She immediately started to cry. "What have you done?! Where's Nik? What did you do with Nik?"

Toby quickly stood in front of Elijah's body when she tried to make a move towards it and she tripped over her feet going backwards. Stefan walked out of the cabin and slowly started walking towards Elowen, his hands up in surrender.

"... Marisol?" He tried softly. Elowen turned towards him and started scrambling to her feet.

"How do you know my name? Who are you people?"

Elowen's voice started to grow thicker and thicker with a Spanish accent the longer she talked. Stefan continued to make his way towards her.

"My name is Stefan," he calmly told her. "We're here to help you."

"Like Kol tried to help?"

Stefan played along and nodded his head. "We're friends of Kol's," he lied. "He wanted us to help you."

The longer he talked, the more Elowen seemed to calm down. Her eyes were still wildly darting around, but she wasn't trying to run anymore.

"Nik killed him because he tried to help. You need to go before he kills you, too. Please. I'm supposed to die. There's nothing you can do."

"You're supposed to die?"

"That's how it's always been. Nik needs me for the ritual. He says I'm important and that he can't break the curse without me."

"The sun and moon curse?"

"No. The curse that binds-" Suddenly, Elowen blinked rapidly and started to shake her head, as if trying to get rid of the fog in her brain. When she looked back up, she looked around at her surroundings as if she didn't know where she was for a minute. She saw Stefan standing a few feet away from her. "Stefan?" Her voice was back to normal and the accent was gone. "Wha- What happened? Where am I?"

"You're at the lake house," Stefan replied.

Elowen wiped at her face furiously when she realized she'd been crying. "Why am I crying? What's going on?" She turned and saw Toby standing in front of Elijah's body and started towards it. Stefan quickly stood in front of her.

"I don't think that's a good idea. You…"

"I what, Stefan? What did I do?"

"I don't… know. You… it's like Marisol took over your body."

"What?"

"I don't know how to explain it. You were her, without a doubt. You said- she said she was meant to die for the ritual and that it wasn't about the sun and moon curse. You came to before she could answer."

They all sat there in silence for a long moment. Finally, Damon broke it.

"Well, as fun as this was, I think it's time I moved our old buddy Elijah."

Elowen tried going towards his body again, but Stefan grabbed her more forcefully. She struggled against him as she watched Damon haul him over his shoulder.

"No, no! He has answers! Stefan, please, he has answers!"

"Do you really think he can explain what the hell just happened?" Damon asked. "Because I don't think so."

Elowen pushed Stefan off of her and instead went back towards the lake house. She walked passed Elena and headed upstairs. When Stefan caught up to her, she was stuffing her clothes back in her suitcase.

"Where are you going?" He asked

"Home," Elowen replied shortly.

Stefan sighed. "We need to talk."

"No, we don't."

"Yes, we do! You were just going to leave with him without a fight! You lied!"

"You lied, too!" Elowen whirled around on Stefan and pointed an accusatory finger at him. "You _do not_ get to lecture me about lying when you're just as much at fault." She turned back and continued putting her clothes in her suitcase and closed it up when she was done. "I'm going home. Don't bother following me."

Damon was already gone when she exited the house. She threw her things into her car and got in. She started it up and pulled out of the driveway, leaving Stefan, Toby and Elena there. Toby sighed as he watched her leave.

"You fucked up big time," he said when he felt Stefan stop next to him.

"Yeah."

"Pro tip. Giving her space won't help. She's really good at holding a grudge, especially when it comes to lying."

"Do you think you could talk to her? She'll listen to you. You're her best friend."

Toby made a wincing sound. "I don't know about that. I'll try, but I'm not making any promises."

"Regardless, thank you."

"Yeah. Don't worry about it."

**xxxx**

Damon entered his room in confusion when he heard the water running in his bathroom. He'd just put Elijah in the cellar and put a lock on the door in case Elowen tried to undagger him behind their backs. He wouldn't put it past her at the moment.

Entering the bathroom warily, it quickly turned into shock when he saw Katherine exiting the shower.

"Hello, Damon," she said. "Hey, do you have a robe?"

"How did you get out?" He asked in disbelief.

"I knew that if I begged you not to kill Elijah, that's exactly what you'd do. Little known fact, Originals can compel vampires, but as soon as they die, the compulsion wears off."

A thought occurred to Damon and dread washed over him.

"What about Luis? Where is he?"

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Still rotting in the tomb. He's too weak to anything, let alone move. He might try to drag himself out when he realizes he can leave, but I doubt it. Look, I didn't run. I meant what I said, Damon. I'm going to help you. So, how about that robe?"

_Damon walked down the stairs, holding a suitcase, and headed for the door. Lexi walked out of the next room over and he stopped._

"_Going somewhere?" She asked._

"_You must be the vampire I hear my brother complaining about," Damon replied._

"_That would be me. And you must be the brother who hates him."_

_Lexi walked closer to him. Damon set his suitcase down._

"_We are at irreparable odds."_

"_You know the hate you're feeling towards Stefan? Towards everyone? You think you have it under control, but you don't. It will get the best of you."_

_Damon picked his suitcase back up. "Help him. He needs it."_

_Lexi nodded. "I'll help him."_

_Damon opened the front door and left._

**xxxx**

**Author's Note:** i was originally very excited when i first wrote this chapter, so i'm really excited about it finally getting published. i think this was one of my fave chapters to write for season 2, as we get to see more into marisol's past. honestly, the whole marisol plot was one of the most original things i've ever thought of and i'm so stoked that y'all finally get to see it. i hope y'all review this one because i'm pretty proud of it :)


	31. Chapter 31

Elowen closed her locker and jumped when she saw Toby standing behind the door. He was smiling at her mischievously. She grumbled and punched him in the shoulder.

"What are you even doing here?" She asked.

He spread his arms out like it was obvious. She finally took notice of the backpack he was wearing.

"Carol decided it was time to enroll me in school." Toby fist pumped. "Go Timberwolves!"

Elowen sighed but smiled anyway. "I don't know if anyone told you, but Ric is our history teacher. It's only weird for the first five minutes."

Toby laughed. "Noted."

They had started walking towards their class when Toby grew quiet. Elowen furrowed her eyebrows and stopped walking. Toby followed suit.

"Tobes? What is it?"

Toby chewed on his bottom lip. "Look, I know Stefan and Damon are the last thing you want to talk about, but there's something you should know."

When Elowen looked at him expectantly, he continued.

"When I staked Elijah, it broke the compulsion he'd put on Katherine and Luis. She's free, Elowen."

Her face went slack when she heard this. She blinked a few times to try and regain her composure. "And Luis? What about him?"

"According to Katherine, he was too weak to move anywhere. As far as we know, he's still in there."

Slowly, Elowen nodded her head. "Okay. Usually I'd buy that, but last time we thought he was too weak to do anything, Stefan ended up getting trapped in the tomb. That's why they were compelled in the first place."

"What are you going to do?" Toby asked worriedly.

"Nothing. I'm going to keep an eye out, but I'm not willingly going down there to pay him a visit."

Toby breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

They continued their walk towards their class. Toby opened his mouth again.

"Why aren't you mad at me? I staked Elijah. He's dead and you want answers more than anything right now."

Elowen sighed deeply. "I don't know," she answered honestly. "Maybe because I knew you had better intentions than Stefan and Damon. They were trying to dictate my life and force me to do things I didn't want to do. They were doing it to control me. You were just... looking out for your best friend."

"But, they were looking out for you, too. They were trying to protect you."

"They were trying to shelter me. There's a difference. Look, can we change the subject, please?"

Toby quickly changed topics without another word.

"I saw Matt putting up a sign that said there's supposed to be a live band at The Grill tonight. We should go. Get your mind off of things."

"That's the best idea you've had all morning." Elowen held her hand out and Toby took it without hesitation. "Shall we head to class?"

"We shall."

**xxxx**

"Hey!"

Elowen turned to the sound of the voice and found Caroline skipping up to her. It was lunch time and she'd been waiting for Toby to make it out to the courtyard.

"Oh. Hey, Caroline. What's up?"

"So, tonight me, Bonnie and Elena are supposed to have a girl's night tonight. You in?"

Elowen faltered, gave a really terrible half smile and shook her head. She didn't really want to be around Elena. Maybe she didn't have a right to be upset with her anymore, seeing as how she was ready to run off with Elijah, but still. She didn't like being lied to, if that weren't obvious by now.

"Sorry, I already told Toby I would go to The Grill with him tonight. There's supposed to be a live band and everything."

Caroline visibly deflated. "Oh. This doesn't have anything to do with what happened, does it?"

"Yes and no. I don't really wanna talk about it."

"Well, in that case, I'll cancel on Elena and Bonnie. I know I can talk Josiah into coming with to The Grill."

"No, you don't have to do that. Elena and Bonnie probably need you more than me, anyway."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Please. I'm just Elena's Bonnie backup, remember? They'll be fine without me. You need your best friend, Caroline Forbes."

"I already have a best friend. His name's Toby Lockwood."

Caroline gaped at her and hit her on the arm. "Ouch! Let me rephrase that, then. You need your _girl_ best friend. How's that?"

Elowen laughed. "I'm kidding, don't worry. There's no rule that says you can't have more than one best friend."

"Best friend? Are we talking about me?" Toby asked playfully as he approached their table. He set his food down and took a seat next to Elowen.

Caroline scoffed with no real malice to it. "Not everything is about you, wolf boy."

"I thought we were meeting in the cafeteria!"

Everyone turned and found Josiah jogging up to their table. Caroline smiled sheepishly at him.

"Sorry! I kind of forgot."

He reached their table and plopped down next to Caroline. She smiled at him and leaned in for a kiss. Toby and Elowen both made a face of disgust.

"Ew," Elowen said. "Get a room."

Both Caroline and Josiah rolled their eyes. Caroline gasped when she remembered what her and Elowen were talking about. She turned to Josiah.

"Hey, so, your sister and I were talking about how The Grill is having a live band tonight. Wanna come with?"

"Hey!" Toby cried. He faced Elowen. "I thought that was just gonna be a you and me thing!"

Elowen grimaced. "Whoops?"

Caroline and Josiah laughed.

"Yeah, I'll come with," Josiah replied at last. "It'll be fun."

Caroline clapped her hands. "Okay! It's settled. We'll meet up at The Grill and have a drama free night."

Everyone else at the table shared uncertain looks.

"Drama free?" Elowen asked. "I don't think that's in our vocabulary."

"Oh, whatever," Caroline drawled. "Let's just focus on having fun, okay?"

"Got it."

"Sure."

"We'll try."

Were Josiah, Toby and Elowen's respective replies. They all laughed together and then went on to eat their lunch.

**xxxx**

When school was over, Elowen had managed to get ahold of Luka and Jonas Martin. With Elijah dead, they were her only chance at A) finding answers and B) killing Klaus. All of her trust in Stefan and Damon was gone for the time being and she needed to find people she could depend on. They met up at The Grill.

"Thanks for coming," she said when Luka and Jonas took a seat across from her. "I just want you to know that I had nothing to do with what Bonnie did to you. I didn't know until after it was all said and done."

"I find that hard to believe," Jonas replied. "You _are_ the one who told my son you didn't trust him when you took the moonstone."

"And I was right to say that, wasn't I? You were working with Elijah the whole time. Look, believe me or not, but I promise you that I didn't know."

"I think she's telling the truth, dad," Luka cut in. "She's the one Elijah was so bent on getting on his side. He wouldn't have done that if he thought she was conspiring against him."

Elowen jumped at this. "He wanted me on his side? Why? What for?"

Luka shrugged. "He wouldn't say, just that you were valuable."

"Well, he succeeded. I was supposed to leave with him when he went to collect Elena. He had answers I needed."

"Had?" Jonas asked a little more forcefully than he should have. Elowen looked down at the table.

"He's dead. I'm sorry."

Jonas started to get up from the table and Elowen quickly stood up as well.

"Look, if it were up to me, Elijah would be standing here right now. I had absolutely nothing to do with it." She wet her lips. "I think he'd want us to work together. I can help you get your daughter back if you help me get the answers I want. Please."

"What kind of answers are we talking about here?" Luka asked. Elowen sat back and Jonas slowly did, too.

"There's this girl Elijah once knew. Her name was Marisol. She was an ancestor of mine who was used to try and break the curse without the doppelganger. The thing is, she looked exactly like me and even Elijah didn't know why. The other night, I apparently channeled her somehow and _became_ her. That's not something that happens to doppelgangers and I just want to know why I look like her and how that happened. Elijah was supposed to help me find out."

Luka and Jonas shared a look, as if they were silently communicating. Finally, Jonas opened his mouth.

"Elijah didn't have a dagger or a special stake to kill Klaus. He wanted to kill him permanently. He believed that if a witch harnessed enough power, it would be able to weaken him enough to kill him. We've been trying to find the spot where dozens of witches were burned at the stake centuries ago in order to channel their power. It's been weeks and we keep coming up empty handed."

Elowen nodded her head. "Okay. I can help with that."

"Good luck," Luka told her half sarcastically. "You'll just end up where we're at."

"I'm an elemental. My power is premonition and I think if I tried hard enough, I'd be able to use that in order to find what you're looking for. Just let me try."

Luka sighed, but nodded his head.

"Your friend Bonnie also asked to meet with us," Jonas said. "Should we do it?"

Elowen was quiet for a moment before shaking her head. "No. They'd just ask the same thing I'm asking you and I can't trust them to not use you without helping with your daughter. They killed Elijah. I wouldn't put it past them."

"Very well. Look, I really don't think we can do this without Elijah. We have to find a way to get the dagger out of him. Even if we do find the spot, we can't successfully lure Klaus out without Elena and Elijah is a very persuasive man. I have an idea, but I'll need your help."

Elowen leaned forward in her seat and placed her arms on the table. "What did you have in mind?"

"We can use a spell to astral project one of us to wherever Elijah is being kept and undagger him."

"I'll do it," Luka immediately volunteered. "I'm too weak to send you and I doubt she has the strength, either. It's a pretty powerful spell."

Elowen thought it over for a moment before nodding her head.

"I'm in."

**xxxx**

Alaric was at her house when she got home. He was talking to Esmeralda in the kitchen.

"It was bad," he was telling her. "John planted all these seeds about Isobel and now Jenna knows we're both lying about something. She confronted me at the dinner party and it wasn't pretty."

"John is going to end up dead on the kitchen floor if he's not careful," she heard her mom respond.

"Yeah, well, easier said than done. I gave him back his ring, so… Look, Jenna keeps asking about Isobel. You know, was she murdered? Why haven't they found the body? I mean, I don't think she can stay in the dark much longer."

"You think we should tell her the truth?"

"I already talked to Elena and told her it was her decision to make. I just don't think we can be real friends with Jenna if we keep lying to her. That's not what you do to friends."

Elowen chose this moment to enter the room. Both Alaric and Esmeralda stopped talking and turned to her. It grew awkwardly quiet as Elowen made her way towards the fridge to find some food. She heard Esmeralda clear her throat.

"I think we need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about," Elowen replied with an uninterested voice, looking through the fridge.

"You were going to run away with Elijah. I think there's a lot to talk about."

Alaric pointed in the direction of the door. "I think I'm going to go, leave you two to talk." He leaned over and placed a kiss on Esmeralda's cheek. "I'll see you later."

Once he left, Esmeralda raised her eyebrows.

"Well?" She asked expectantly.

Elowen shrugged. "Well what?"

"You care explaining what was going through your mind? Did it have something to do with your obsession with Marisol? Stefan filled me in on what happened."

Elowen closed the fridge and faced Esmeralda, crossing her arms.

"Did he also tell you about how her spirit possessed me? That doesn't just happen to anybody, mom. She looks like me and then I become her? It doesn't make any sense." Before Esmeralda could respond, she changed the subject. "What happened between you and Elijah? Damon said you two had a history together."

Esmeralda sighed deeply. She was expecting this question. She walked around the island and gestured to Elowen to sit at the dining table with her. She did.

"When you were a baby, Elijah came to my doorstep to warn me that Klaus was on the lookout for our family line. In 1564, our ancestor, Estefani, pledged her loyalty and everyone after her to Klaus and in turn, him and Elijah would protect us. He forced our bloodline to help him find a way to break the curse without the doppelganger for centuries, until another ancestor, Elizabeth, placed a cloaking spell on us in order to break away from him. This was sometime in the 1800s, before Esperanza immigrated to Mystic Falls.

"Elijah heard a rumor that Klaus had been trying to find a way to break the cloaking spell and he offered to keep watch on me to make sure nothing happened to me, you or Josiah. He stayed with us for 6 months. I was straight out of high school and newly married, but the truth was, I fell out of love with Luis after you were born. I stayed with him because, well… in the beginning, he treated me like a princess. He was very doting, and caring, and he used to shower me with gifts. No other guy at school wanted anything to do with me. They all said I got pregnant on purpose to trap Luis and they didn't want me to do that to them, too. I thought that I'd end up alone and be a single mother if I left. I was so insecure back then.

"By the time I met Elijah, Luis had just started university, so I didn't see him much. He was so new and different. He was old school, a perfect gentleman. It was a nice change of pace, you know? He treated me like a woman, not like some silly teenage girlfriend. God, and the way he handled Josiah. Everything was like it was out of a movie, and so I fell in love with him. I was absolutely heartbroken when he told me he finally had to leave. I begged him to take me with him, but he told me not to be selfish, to think about my kids. All I got was one goodbye kiss, and then he was gone. Afterwards, I just went on with my life. That was all there was left for me to do. I didn't think I was ever going to see him again, but here we are. That's what happened between me and Elijah."

Elowen was quiet for a moment as she processed everything that her mom had just told her. It was a little confusing, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it all, but one thing was obvious.

"You're still in love with him," she stated.

Esmeralda blinked and immediately started to shake her head. "What? No! No, of course I'm not still in love with him. I'm with Alaric now, remember?"

"Mom, you didn't see your face when you were talking about him. You're still in love with him, trust me."

"But… But…" Esmeralda sighed in defeat. "You're right. I am. I just didn't want to admit it because I don't want to hurt Ric. He loves me, Elle. He hasn't said it yet, but I know he does. He's already jealous enough as it is. This would crush him."

Elowen put her hand on Esmeralda's shoulder in comfort. "You should tell him."

"I know."

"You know, my deal with Elijah was for him to take all of us. You, me, Josiah and Eliana. He was even going to let Caroline and Sydney come. He said that you'd probably be more than willing to come with."

"He was right. It would've taken a little bit of persuading, but I would've gone. Josiah would go anywhere as long as Caroline was there. Same with Eliana and Sydney. You really thought it through, didn't you?"

Elowen shrugged. "He said that he knew I wouldn't leave my family behind. It was all him, really."

Esmeralda gave a small laugh. "Sounds like him." She ran her fingers through Elowen's bangs. "I'll help you figure this out, honey. It means a lot to you, and to be honest, I'm a little curious myself."

"Even though I've gone rogue?"

"Even though you've gone rogue."

"Well, I've teamed up with Luka and his dad. They're trying to find the sight where-"

"Witches were burned at the stake. Yeah, I know. Elijah mentioned wanting to know where it was at the dinner party."

A look came over Esmeralda's face and Elowen furrowed her eyebrows.

"Mom? What is it? What do you know?"

"I know where it happened. I did some heavy research on this town before we moved here. I wanted to make sure I wasn't making a mistake coming here. I accidentally stumbled across it, but I didn't think anything of it at the time."

Elowen had perked up hearing this. "Mom, this is great! We have to tell the Martins."

"What's so great?" Eliana asked as she entered the room. Sydney was following close behind her. They'd just gotten back from a walk around town and caught the neck end of the conversation.

"Everything I'm trying to do is coming all together, is all," Elowen replied. Eliana quirked an eyebrow.

"Which is?"

"Finding answers."

"Not sure what kind of answers you're looking for, but I'm in. I am your aunt, after all."

Elowen smiled. "Alright, so here's the plan."

**xxxx**

Elowen knocked on the door of the apartment Luka and Jonas were staying at. Esmeralda and Eliana stayed at home because they didn't want the Martin's to back out knowing more than one of them were helping. Luka answered. He opened the door wider to let her in.

"So, how does this work?" She asked as she entered. Luka closed the door behind her.

"Luka will concentrate on Elijah, we'll say a spell and it'll transport him to wherever they're hiding Elijah's body," Jonas answered.

"Okay. Let's do it."

There were already numerous candles lit surrounding the table in the room. Jonas placed one of the many grimoires in the room in the middle and they all sat in a circle. The three of them held hands and Luka closed his eyes.

"I got it," he said after a moment. Jonas nodded and both him and Elowen cast the spell that was on the grimoire in front of her.

Luka opened his eyes and found himself at the Salvatore boarding house. He saw who he thought was Elena and Damon sitting in the living room, both of them reading.

"I'm at the Salvatore house," he told his dad and Elowen. "Elijah's body must be here."

"What do you see?" Jonas asked.

At the boarding house, Damon furrowed his eyebrows and glanced over at the door. He could've sworn he sensed something or somebody, but when he looked, nobody was there. Luka was invisible to them.

"Elena and Damon," he replied. "They're reading."

"Good. If Elijah's there, you'll sense him. Stay focused."

Luka left the room and started making his way towards the stairs that lead to the basement. When he left, Elena, or better yet, Katherine, peered over Damon's shoulder.

"Can I help you?" He asked, annoyed.

"I'm bored." She read a passage that was on the page Damon was reading. "'Emily Bennett and Esperanza Ramirez were taken by the Council today. They kidnapped them both from their homes and took them to the same location her ancestors were burned a hundred years ago'. So, Emily and Esperanza both died on the site of the massacre, too. Does it say where?"

Katherine tried to take the journal from Damon, but he pulled it away.

"Nope. You know this whole friendly, cooperative thing?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I don't buy it."

"I have no reason to lie to you, Damon."

"You said you'd stay to help with Elowen, but it's obvious she doesn't want any of our help. You're here for nothing."

Katherine smirked. "Yeah, about that. I always knew she was smart, but I didn't think she'd ever go against you like this. Looks like she's even smarter than I thought. Good for her. Maybe it's her I should be bothering."

Damon scowled. "Stay away from her, will you?"

"Hmm, if it's her I'm supposed to be helping, then… how can I do that from here? You're nothing without her, you know. You only got this far because of her powers."

Damon's scowl deepened. "Keep going and I'll rip your heart out."

"I'm right and you know it." Katherine got up from her seat. "I'm hungry."

"You're the unwanted house guest. Go feed yourself."

Katherine sighed loudly, but still went down into the basement. She took a blood bag out of the fridge and felt a presence. She looked back, but didn't see anything. Luka was there, making his way towards the cell Elijah's body was in.

"There's a lock on the door," Luka said to Jonas and Elowen. "I can't get in."

"They must've put that there in case I tried to sneak in and undagger Elijah myself," Elowen said. "Isn't there a spell to unlock things?"

"Keep yourself anchored," Jonas ordered. He removed his hands from the circle and Elowen felt a weight drop onto her shoulders as the spell was left to her by herself. Jonas walked over to the grimoires, pulled one out and started flipping through the pages. He came back when he found the right one. He grabbed onto Elowen's hands and recited a spell.

"It worked," Luka announced. The door swung open with a loud creak, gaining Katherine's attention. She wandered over warily. This door was supposed to be locked. Luka walked inside, found Elijah, crouched down and started to remove the dagger. Katherine saw this and rushed forward. Her hands slammed down on the dagger in order to stop it from being removed.

"Elena's fighting me," Luka said with a frown.

"What's wrong?" Jonas asked.

"She's stronger than me."

Realization dawned on Elowen's face. "That's not Elena. It's Katherine."

"Luka, kill her," Jonas instructed. "She's a vampire. Find a stake and drive it through her heart."

Luka released the dagger. Katherine, feeling the struggling stop, also released the dagger. She looked around the room to try and find the source of what was in the room, but instead watched as a wooden chair broke itself.

"Damon!" She yelled just as Luka stabbed her in the stomach, missing her heart. Damon arrived down in the basement and saw Katherine on the ground, impaled, and moved to rip it out.

"What happened?" He asked in confusion.

"Damon…" She was looking at Elijah's body, where Luka was trying to remove the dagger again. Acting quickly, Damon picked up the flame gun he'd used earlier to try and burn Elijah's body and aimed it in Luka's general direction. He shot flames around Elijah's body, unknowingly hitting Luka.

Luka burst into flames back at the apartment and started screaming in pain. Elowen jerked back in surprise, while Jonas quickly jumped up to grab a blanket. He wrapped it around Luka to smother the flames, but when he pulled back, Luka was severely burned and unresponsive.

Elowen covered her mouth as Jonas tried to shake him awake.

"Oh my god, Luka! Luka! Luka! I'm sorry. Please, just wake up, son. Open your eyes."

Jonas grabbed a grimoire and opened it. He started to cast a spell, but stopped when nothing happened. Both Elowen and Jonas started to realize that Luka was dead and Jonas started to cry. Elowen slowly walked over and reached down to touch Jonas's shoulder, but he harshly pushed her away. She flinched back.

Jonas pulled some items out of the nearby shelf and a picture of Elena and then a picture of Elowen fell out of it. Elowen looked on, confused. What was he doing with this? And how did he get it? She didn't have time to ask.

"Dr. Martin? Dr. Martin, what are you doing?"

Jonas didn't answer her and cast a spell in order to locate Elena. Elowen started to panic and tried to stand in front of Jonas when he got up and made to move towards the door.

"Dr. Martin, whatever it is that you're planning on doing, don't. Think about Greta! You won't get her back if you go through with this."

Jonas pushed her aside and she landed on the ground next to Luka with a muffled thump. The front door opened, revealing Stefan on the other side, but Jonas quickly cast a spell on him and he went down, clutching his head in pain.

"He's dead and I have no one," Jonas growled. "And now you're about to find out exactly what that feels like."

Elowen seemed to realize what was happening and scrambled back to her feet. "Dr. Martin, no! If you kill Elena, you might as well kiss Greta goodbye. Please!"

Jonas ignored her, stepped over Stefan and left. She tried to run after him, but she stopped when she reached Stefan. Instead of going after Jonas, she squatted down to help Stefan up.

"Where's Elena?" She asked quickly. "He's going after Elena."

Elowen's phone rang and saw Caroline's name pop up on the screen. She quickly answered it.

"Hey! Where are you-" Caroline started to ask, but Elowen cut her off.

"Please tell me you know where Elena is."

Caroline looked over the crowd of people at The Grill and spotted Elena with Bonnie a few feet away.

"She's here at The Grill, you know, where you're supposed to be right now."

"Nevermind that. Jonas Martin is on his way there right now to kill her. Protect her."

Caroline widened her eyes in alarm. Both Josiah and Toby looked at her expectantly. "What? Okay, I will."

She hung up with Elowen and filled Josiah and Toby in. They all made their way over to Elena to tell her. Jenna was with them and had just left for the bar when they arrived.

"You need to come with us," Caroline told her. "Ask questions later. Come on."

Elena furrowed her eyebrows, absolutely lost as Caroline took hold of her arm and started dragging her away from the crowd. Bonnie quickly followed, flanked by Toby and Josiah. Bonnie saw Jonas enter The Grill and walked over to him.

"Dr. Martin, are you okay?" She asked.

"Where is she?" Jonas questioned instead.

"I don't understand."

"My son is dead."

Suddenly, Caroline's behavior made sense. "Whatever it is that you think you need to do, there's a better way."

"They killed Elijah and they killed Luka and my only shot at getting my daughter back is if I have Elena."

"No. No, Dr. Martin."

Jonas broke the stage lights with his powers. Some people inside The Grill screamed and ran away from the sparks.

"Where is she?" Jonas demanded again.

"I don't know," Bonnie said hastily. "I haven't seen her."

He used his powers to break the rest of the lights inside The Grill. Elowen and Stefan arrived just as Caroline snuck Elena out of the back. They rushed over and took hold of her.

"What else can I do to help?" Caroline asked. "Let me help."

"Damon and I have a plan," Stefan told her. "But we need to get Elena out of here. Distract him."

Caroline, Toby and Josiah all nodded and rushed back inside. Jonas had just broken all of the bottles in the bar and started a fire inside. Everyone was running outside as the fire spread. Bonnie tried to stop him, but he put his hand to her head and she fell to the ground, unconscious. Matt saw her go down and rushed over to her.

"Bonnie! Hey, Bonnie!" He shook her and her eyes slowly opened. He helped her up to her feet. Elowen and Stefan had dashed inside and found Jonas.

"Dr. Martin!" Elowen called out. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I just wanted us to help each other! We can still do that. Just, please, don't do this."

"My son is dead because of them."

"But, I'm not them! I'm not with them anymore, remember? I can help you get your daughter back."

"Only Elijah can do that."

"And I agree! I agree, but hurting Elena is not the answer."

"I don't want to hurt her. If I have her, I can still get Greta back. I'll still have a chance."

Elowen's earlier guess that he was out to kill Elena turned out to be wrong (for once, she was wrong about something) and her face showed that she understood what was happening now.

"Look, you still have me."

Jonas looked at Stefan, who was standing behind her.

"Don't look at him. He's not here. You have me. Elijah wanted me for a reason, right? That means I'm important. I can help, please."

For a minute, it seemed like she'd gotten through to him. Then, he set another fire and it flared between him and Elowen. She inched backwards away from it and Stefan grabbed onto her arm. Caroline came out of nowhere and jumped on top of him. Stefan pulled Elowen away. Caroline hissed at him and tried to bite him, but he cast a spell and sent her down on the ground. Josiah and Toby quickly dropped down next to her as she screamed in pain. Matt saw this, too, and made his way over.

"Caroline! Hey, get away from her!"

Matt pushed Jonas against one of the nearby pillars. Without missing a beat, Jonas broke a bottle and stabbed Matt in the neck with it. Josiah was at Matt's side the second he hit the floor. Jonas had left and now that the spell was broken, Caroline crawled over.

"Matt! Matt, oh my god!" Caroline took a deep breath to calm herself down and then bit into her wrist. Matt's eyes widened and he tried to move away, but Caroline's wrist was already to his mouth. "You have to drink. Please."

**xxxx**

Elowen had called Esmeralda and asked her to come to Elena's house when Alaric told her Jenna was with him. She knew what was going on and figured that it would be better if Alaric didn't deal with Jenna on his own.

Katherine was coming down the stairs, blood dripping down her mouth. Elowen regarded her with a nod.

"Nice thinking."

Katherine smirked. "At least someone knows how to say thank you around here."

"Don't encourage her," Damon said from beside Elowen. She didn't acknowledge him as another plan started to form in her head. She wouldn't say it here, though. Not in front of Stefan, Damon and Elena.

"You're going to have to get her out of here before Jenna gets home," Elena told Stefan, who nodded. Katherine scoffed.

"Is that all you have to say to me?"

"This doesn't change the way I feel about you."

"I don't like you much, either, if we're going to be open, and frankly, I'd be happy to see you dead." Katherine paused and turned to Elowen. "You, however, I'm much warming up to. Shocker, isn't it? But, if we're going to take on Klaus, we kinda need Elena alive. I'm not a threat to you. If any of you are going to believe anything, believe that."

Elowen tilted her head. She actually found herself believing Katherine, and if her new plan was going to work, she'd need Katherine on her side. If you told her months ago that she was going to be teaming up with Katherine Pierce, she'd say you were insane. Now, however, it seemed like her next best option.

They all heard Alaric, Esmeralda and Jenna on the porch and took that as their cue. Stefan, Damon, Katherine and Elowen went to sneak out the back door. Katherine took off at full speed, but Stefan and Damon lingered.

"I can get home by myself, thank you very much," Elowen drawled in annoyance when she noticed that they weren't leaving.

"We just want to make sure you're doing okay," Stefan said. "We're worried about you."

"Well, don't be. I'm fine."

"You're not fine," Damon cut in. "You're going on some sort of rampage and you're so bent on finding what you're looking for."

She rolled her eyes. "Which I will, no thanks to you two."

Elowen tried to leave, but both Stefan and Damon stood in her way. She huffed.

"You wanna help? You wanna fix everything like you always do? Undagger Elijah."

Stefan and Damon glanced at each other, but didn't say anything.

"That's what I thought. Now, get out of my way."

Stefan and Damon did as she asked. She pushed past them without a word and left.

On the porch, Alaric and Esmeralda were talking to Jenna. Alaric had been at The Grill when everything went down and was making sure Jenna got home safely. Esmeralda had been waiting for them.

"Hey. I heard about what happened at The Grill. I wanted to make sure you were okay," Esmeralda lied. She was here because Elowen called her. Jenna didn't need to know that. Speaking of Jenna, she looked between Esmeralda and Alaric with her jaw set. It was obvious that she didn't want to see either one of them.

"I'm fine," she replied shortly.

"Jenna, are you going to be okay?" Alaric asked. He sighed when she didn't move. He glanced at Esmeralda before continuing. "Look, Isobel is dead and there are things about her death that neither of us can tell you about. It isn't for us to tell. You can be upset and hate us, you have every right. We get it, but just know that we're doing this for a good reason." He looked at Esmeralda again and nodded his head in the direction of their cars.

The both of them took each other's hands and left.

**xxxx**

Matt slowly woke up in Caroline's bedroom. Both her and Josiah had brought him here after everything that happened at The Grill. Toby had helped, but left shortly afterwards. Caroline and Josiah were sitting in the room and both sat up when they saw him wake up.

"Hi," Caroline weakly greeted. Matt quickly sat up and grabbed at his neck.

"What the hell? Your face… and all the blood. I- I drank your blood."

"You were dying. My blood healed you."

"What do you mean, it healed me? How can your blood heal me?"

"Because that's what vampire blood does for humans and that's what I am. I'm a vampire, Matt."

Matt immediately started to back away. Caroline quickly stood up and so did Josiah.

"No."

"Look, we'll explain everything, okay?" Josiah said. "We'll explain it all, including why we kept this from you. I just need you to calm down."

"Calm down? You want me to calm down? How do you expect me to calm down after hearing something like this?" Matt's face changed as he remembered something. "Vampires. Oh my god. Vicki. At the hospital, I thought she was tripping out."

Caroline shook her head, confused. "What?"

"Vicki, she knew about vampires, and I- What did you do?"

"Nothing. Nothing!"

"I need to get out of here."

Caroline jumped in front of him. "No, no, no! I can't let you leave. I cannot let you leave."

"What did you do to my sister?" Matt asked loudly.

"Nothing! Nothing, I swear! I swear, nothing!"

"What did you do?!"

"Hey, calm down!" Josiah tried to help. "She had nothing to do with Vicki. I know this because my sister tried to help her, remember? Elowen was friends with Vicki. I wasn't even dating Caroline yet when all of that went down. I said we'll explain everything, including what happened to Vicki, as long as you calm down."

Matt started to shake his head. "No. Screw this. Get out of my way." He pushed past both Caroline and Josiah and made a beeline for the door. Caroline tried to go after him, but the sound of the front door opening and closing rang through the house. Sheriff Forbes was home. She couldn't know what was happening.

Matt burst through Caroline's bedroom door, past Sheriff Forbes and out the front door. Liz looked in the direction Matt went with wide eyes and turned to Caroline and Josiah expectantly when they came running out of her room.

"Want to explain to me what the hell that was?" She asked incredulously.

"We just had a bad argument is all," Caroline lied easily. "He'll come around."

"Uh-huh." Liz nodded slowly, not particularly buying it, but letting it go anyway. "Josiah, always good to see you. It's getting late. You better get home."

"Yes, ma'am." Josiah shot Caroline a look before heading for the door.

Hopefully, they could find Matt before he told anybody anything.

**xxxx**

A girl giggled loudly as she dragged her boyfriend down the stairs of the tomb.

"What's down here? This didn't used to be here."

Her boyfriend warily peered down and tried to pull his girlfriend back up.

"I don't know, but I don't like it."

"Oh, stop being such a baby. Ooh, look!" She found the opening to the tomb and looked inside. "I'm going in."

"Crystal! Ugh."

"Oh my god," came Crystal's voice from inside. She found Luis's desiccated body lying on the ground and slowly approached him. "Liam... I think he's hurt. He needs help!"

Liam rushed inside the tomb and found Crystal trying to lift Luis up. He dove down and swung Luis's other arm around his shoulder and helped pick him up. Luis, although weak, had his head lolled over into Crystal's neck, and the scent of her blood was enough to wake him up. It hurt a little, but he let his fangs slowly come out and sank them into her neck. She screamed and dropped him and they both fell to the ground as Liam let go as well. With his strength gradually coming back, he was able to grab Crystal and hold her down. Her screams died out and she stopped struggling until she was dead.

Liam had taken off and left Crystal there. He'd just made it to the top of the stairs when Luis sped in front of him. He gasped and fell backwards. Luis's face was soaked in fresh blood and it dribbled down his chin. Liam tried crawling away from Luis, but it was no use. Luis grabbed him roughly by the hair and yanked his head to the side. He bit into his neck and drank until Liam was dead, too.

When it was all said and done, Luis let his face go back to normal and he rolled his shoulders back.

God, did it feel good to be outside again.

**xxxx**

**Author's Note: **okay, so i think i'm gonna start updating this story a little faster now than before because i want to get season 2 finished up and all published so i can start on season 3. even though i've been updating this pretty regularly (at least once a week), it's still taken me 6ish months to get this all posted. season 1 took me over a year and i don't want that to happen again. that's what i get for making these stories so long lol. anyway, hope you enjoyed this one and please review!


	32. Chapter 32

It was mid morning when Esmeralda's phone went off. Elowen and Josiah were at the dinner table eating breakfast, Eliana was in the shower, Sydney was in the kitchen and Esmeralda had just made it downstairs. Binx was lounging in the living room.

"Hello?" She answered as she rounded the corner and approached the fridge. She hadn't looked at the caller ID before she picked up.

"Hey," Alaric's voice breathed through the line. "Look, there's no easy way to say this. Isobel showed up on Elena's doorstep last night. She asked me to call you so we could both come over and try to explain things to Jenna."

Esmeralda's hand was on the fridge door handle and she stopped mid pulling it open. She wasn't sure how to process this. "Oh," she replied dumbly. "Okay. I'll meet you there."

"Okay. Bye."

Esmeralda hung up and stared at her phone for a minute. Sydney was eyeing her intently.

"Something wrong?" She asked. Esmeralda shook her head.

"I'm not sure, but I'm about to find out."

**xxxx**

Elena opened the front door and sighed in relief when she saw Alaric and Esmeralda had finally showed up. They both stepped in.

"Hey. Is she up yet?" Alaric asked as Elena closed the door behind them. She shook her head.

"She won't come out of her room."

"What'd you tell her?" Esmeralda questioned.

"Nothing. She won't talk to me."

"We're gonna have to fix this, Elena," Alaric told her. Footsteps descending the stairs caught their attention and they looked up to find Jenna coming down. Esmeralda immediately doubled over. The strong amounts of anger - no, more like fury - emitting from Jenna was almost overwhelming. She was _pissed_.

"I don't want you here, Ric, Esmeralda," Jenna said with clenched teeth. She couldn't even care to be bothered that it looked like Esmeralda was going to be sick. "You need to go."

"Okay, listen," Alaric started. "I can't even begin to imagine what you must be feeling right now."

Esmeralda growled, straightened up suddenly and slapped Alaric across the face. Both Elena and Jenna jumped back with wide eyes. Alaric grabbed onto his face, equally as stunned.

"How could you?! I trusted you!" Esmeralda yelled. "I thought you were my friend and you just went ahead and lied to me? I can't believe you!"

She drew her hand back to try and land another hit, but Alaric, having regained his composure, quickly grabbed both of her hands and did his best to hold her back as she struggled.

"Esmeralda! Hey!"

"Let go of me! I said, _let go of me_!"

"Hey! Hey! Esmeralda!" Alaric pushed her against the wall and held her there as she continued to fight him. "Stop it, this isn't you! You're feeling what Jenna's feeling; you're letting her emotions control you. Concentrate!"

Slowly, all the fight started to leave Esmeralda's body until she was left breathing heavily against the wall. Her face was flushed and red and it took a second for her eyes to refocus. She saw Elena's half scared, half worried face, Jenna's look of bewilderment and finally, Alaric's calm, reassuring eyes that were telling her that she would be okay, that this was only a phase. Some of her hair was stuck to her face and she doubted she looked anywhere near decent at the moment.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "She's just feeling a lot of rage right now and it's hard to not let it cloud my judgement."

"Okay, what the hell was that?" Jenna asked. "What do you mean she's letting my emotions control her?"

Alaric let Esmeralda go and she carefully took a step towards Jenna.

"This isn't going to be easy to hear. I'm a witch, Jenna."

Jenna scoffed and shook her head. "God, you must really think I'm stupid, huh? This would be so much easier if you would just tell me the truth."

"We're trying to, Jenna. Just listen to us," Elena said hopelessly. Jenna had come down with a bag and put it down so she could put her jacket on. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to stay on campus," Jenna replied shortly. "I have a thesis to write and I don't want to be in this house."

"Jenna, please, just stop," Elena begged. "Let us explain to you exactly what is going on."

Jenna ignored her. "Elena, I need you to go to the Lockwood's today and accept the Historical Society's check for your mom's foundation." She went over and opened the front door.

"Okay, but, Jenna, please just-"

Jenna turned on Elena, her face both angry and hurt. Her eyes were red and watery as she tried not to cry. "I don't have it in me to hear any more lies from you."

She slammed the door shut as she left and Elena tried going after her. John walked out from the kitchen, having heard everything.

"Let her go," he said. "It's better that she's not here, what with everything that's going on, but maybe, had you been a little more honest with her from the beginning, this-"

Alaric punched John in the face before he could finish his sentence. Elena and Esmeralda stepped back in surprise.

"Sorry, Elena," Alaric mumbled quietly before grabbing Esmeralda's wrist and pulling her to the front door with him. They both left and Elena turned to John.

"You know this is your fault, right?"

John's nose was bleeding and Elena was looking at him with a satisfied smile.

"Right."

She left and went back upstairs without another word.

**xxxx**

Elowen begrudgingly walked up the steps of Elena's house with heavy footsteps. She really didn't want to be here, but Esmeralda had practically gotten on her knees and begged Elowen to go over there and offer some sort of comfort, assistance, whatever. She had whined and said that she needed to go over to Luka and Jonas's apartment and collect all of their grimoires, but Esmeralda told her that her, Eliana and Sydney would do it. Josiah had been tasked to help Caroline find Matt. So, that's how she found herself knocking on Elena's door.

Stefan was the one to answer the door. She stared at him for a moment, shook her head and turned around to leave. Screw this. She didn't want to be anywhere near Stefan than she did Elena and she was wondering how her mom even talked her into this in the first place.

"Elle, wait." Stefan quickly followed her down the steps and grabbed onto her wrist. Elowen whirled around on him.

"What, Stefan? What? Are you going to launch into some stupid speech about how I'm making the wrong choices and that I should come back and help you? Huh? Well, I don't want to hear it. Let go of me."

Stefan let her go and she continued her way towards her car.

"I hate to interrupt," John's voice rang out. They both turned to the still open front door and found him standing in the doorway. "But, can you come back inside, please? I think you two would like to hear this."

Elowen cast one last glance at Stefan before moving past him and going back the way she came. After a moment, Stefan followed. Elena was making her way downstairs when they entered and she seemed surprised to see Elowen there. There was no time for explanations, because Isobel came walking out of the kitchen.

"I asked John for a do-over," she told them. Elena looked at John in disbelief.

"_You invited her in?_"

"She has information about Klaus," John replied. "Please, just listen to her, okay?"

"Alright," Elowen spoke up. "I'll bite. What do you know?"

They'd all moved to the kitchen before Isobel said anything.

"Since I was last here, I've been doing everything possible to find Klaus," Isobel was explaining. "We knew our best chance was to find him before he could find you."

"Best chance at what?" Stefan asked.

"Keeping Elena alive," John answered. Elena scoffed.

"You don't get to talk, okay? Not after everything you've done."

"Were you able to find Klaus?" Elowen asked, steering the conversation back to the right topic.

"No," Isobel lied right through her teeth. Elowen knew it. She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. Isobel wasn't even fazed by her suspicious gaze. In fact, she looked at her in a taunting way that challenged her. 'Say it,' it said, 'go ahead. Say it'. She didn't.

"Nobody knows where he is, but there are these rumors that are flying around that a doppelganger exists and that the Ramirez family has been found."

"Which means that any vampire that wants to get in favor with Klaus will be lining up to capture the both of you," John finished.

"What I'm not understanding," Elowen started to say, "is why you're including me in this. I'm not your daughter. I'm nothing to you. You kidnapped me, used me as bait and were ready to kill me if you didn't get what you want without batting an eyelash and now you want to help? I'm not buying it."

"I agree," Elena said. Her eyes were on Isobel. "The last time you were here, you made it clear that you didn't give a damn about me. Now all of a sudden I'm supposed to believe that you want to help?"

"Isobel's been helping all along," John told them. "Klaus has been obsessed with finding Katherine for centuries. All it would take was any one of those 1864 tomb vampires to spread the word around that Katherine was still alive and it would've brought him straight here to Mystic Falls, where you were bound to be discovered, so we killed them."

"And almost killed Stefan and Damon in the process!" Elena exclaimed. Isobel stood up from her spot and moved towards Elena.

"I have a safe house that I can take you to. The deed is on your name. No vampires can get in without your permission, not even me. Let me help you."

"You wanna help? Then get the hell out of my house."

Isobel did exactly that. Elowen left immediately after, before Stefan could corner her, and instead went after Isobel.

"I know you're lying," she called out before Isobel could leave. "You've found him, haven't you?"

Isobel stopped and turned around. "I forgot. You're smart, and you have that nifty little power to help you, don't you?" She put her hands on her hips. "Hmm. Come with me. Let's have a little chat alone, shall we?"

**xxxx**

Damon opened the door to the apartment Luka and Jonas had been staying. Eliana, Esmeralda and Sydney were long gone by now. He didn't even have a clue that they'd been there. He put his hand through the door and found that he could get in.

"Yep. Everybody's dead."

He stepped through the threshold, followed by Jeremy and Bonnie. Luka's body was still in the living room, except now he had a blanket covering his body. Sydney didn't want to just leave him there, but Esmeralda said their priority was the grimoires, that they would come back for him later. She was the one who had covered him.

"The grimoires. They're all gone," Bonnie said once she ventured into the apartment. She was looking at all of the empty shelves in both awe and shock. There had been at least a hundred, maybe more, and to see them not there anymore made her feel like the carpet had been pulled out from underneath her. How was she supposed to fulfill Jonas's dying wish now?

"Damn it," Damon swore. "Elowen must've gotten here before we did. She had teamed up with them, after all."

"What are we gonna do, then?" Jeremy asked. "She's squarely on her own team now and there's no way she'd ever give us what we need."

"Can't you talk to your old buddy Josiah?" Damon asked. Jeremy shook his head.

"No. He's made it clear that he's not going to betray his sister. I haven't heard from him in days."

"And if Josiah's running with her, then that means Vampire Barbie is, too. There's no way she'd go against her precious boyfriend."

"Why did you have to go and lie to her? We wouldn't be all divided up right now if you'd just told her the truth."

"If I'd told her the truth, Elijah would be long gone with her in tow right now. I did what I had to do."

"No, what you did was selfish. You should've tried to help her, not-"

"I dare you to finish that sentence."

Jeremy shut up. He shook his head. "Whatever. Let's just get out of here. There's nothing that could help us."

**xxxx**

Isobel wouldn't say anything until they arrived at the house she was staying at. They entered and Elowen immediately started to speak.

"There's a chance that you'll just rat me out to Klaus the second I tell you what I know. How do I know you won't do that?"

"You don't. You're taking a big risk just being here, witch."

Isobel walked over to a bag and took out a wine bottle. She stopped midway and suddenly sped across the house and pushed somebody who was in the house against the wall. It had been Katherine. She easily pushed Isobel off and had her by the throat a second later.

"Nice house," she commented. Isobel smirked.

"Nicest foreclosure in town."

Katherine removed her hand and smiled. Isobel laughed.

"Come here."

They hugged and Elowen watched them confusedly a few feet away.

"Sorry, am I missing something here?" She asked.

Katherine pulled away from the hug and smirked. Her eyes sparkled with a glint in them, as if she were pleased to see Elowen there.

"Hmm," she hummed as she approached Elowen. "I knew you weren't running with your boy toys anymore, but I didn't realize that you'd be willing to work with someone they view as a threat."

"All the more reason," Elowen replied. "They thought Elijah was a threat, but he was clearly a man of his word."

"That he was." Katherine stopped in front of her and put her hands on her hips.

"It's good you're here. I have a plan that includes you, and it's all coming together perfectly now that Isobel's here. She's found Klaus."

Katherine raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Is that so? And you're so sure that you can trust me after everything I've done?"

"No, but you and I both want Klaus dead and you'll do whatever you think you need to do in order to make sure that happens. I know you think Stefan and Damon are floundering. You don't think they can do it."

"You're right. I was more than willing to play it their way if I had to, but…" She shrugged. "You know, you could easily turn and run back into their arms and tell them I'm here."

"I won't. I'm taking matters into my own hands. I don't need their help."

"You're more like me than you'd rather admit. You're a survivor. You do what you have to do to get what you want. Whatever it takes to get the job done, right?"

Elowen stared at Katherine for a moment and didn't answer. Finally, she looked past her and at Isobel instead. "Tell us what you know. That's the only reason I'm here."

They found themselves sitting on the couch in the living room. It turns out the wine bottle was filled with blood, so both Katherine and Isobel were drinking some of it out of wine glasses. Elowen sat and waited patiently for Isobel to say something.

"I couldn't get anywhere near Klaus," she said at last. "But, I found my way to someone in his trusted circle. One of his witches."

Katherine rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink. "Klaus and his witches."

"He said that Klaus is willing to grant you your freedom if we delivered the moonstone and the doppelganger."

"I have the moonstone," Elowen spoke up. Isobel and Katherine's eyes were on her in an instant. "Elijah gave it to me before he died. Stefan and Damon don't even know I have it. It's safe in my house, where neither of you are invited in, so don't even think about trying to doublecross me."

"It's your turn to spill," Isobel told her. "I told you what I know."

"Elijah believed that if a witch could harness enough power, they could kill Klaus. I'm already halfway there, I just need the right spell, which is being looked for as we speak. Here's how this is going to work. I'll give the stone over to you," she said to Katherine, "and place a tracking spell on you so I can follow where you go. You'll lead me right to Klaus, and then you can run as far away from here as possible, I don't care."

"I'm liking this plan already," Katherine commented before taking another sip of her drink.

"You'll be tasked with getting Elena," Elowen told Isobel. "It'll be easier said than done. Katherine goes free, you can go wherever you go, and I'll stay here and deal with Klaus. Surely he'll have to come out of hiding with Elena and the moonstone being dangled in his face."

"And you're okay letting poor, little Elena die?" Katherine asked.

"I'm already on top of that, too. I've recently come into dozens and dozens of new grimoires that are bound to have to spell to help in that department. Just leave the rest to me, okay? Only worry about your part of the plan."

"You've really thought this through, haven't you?" Isobel questioned. "It's cute. Looks like I severely underestimated you last time I was here." She nodded. "Okay. Let's do it."

**xxxx**

There was a knock at the door and everyone paused. Everyone being Esmeralda, Eliana, Sydney and Toby. Josiah and Caroline were still out looking for Matt. It was easier said than done to find the right spell to channel power, but now they were all looking for a spell to help save Elena. Esmeralda was the one who stood up and went to answer the door. Jeremy and Bonnie were standing on the other side.

"We want to help," Jeremy said once the door was open. "Stefan and Damon have no idea what they're doing. Not without Elowen. You guys are our best chance at killing Klaus. Let us help. Please."

Esmeralda sighed and glanced over his shoulder at everyone looking over in curiosity. She opened the door wider to let them in.

"We're looking for a spell to help save Elena."

Bonnie furrowed her eyebrows as she entered. "But, I thought the whole point of killing Klaus was to save Elena."

"Klaus will be his weakest after the sacrifice," Esmeralda replied as she led them back towards the living room. "According to Elijah, at least, which means we have to go through with it. Elowen says she thinks that's our best shot, and, well, she's sort of the one calling the shots right now."

"Hang on, I think I've found something," Toby said when Jeremy picked up a lone grimoire. "This says that if we bind Elena's soul to someone, then… wait. Nevermind. False alarm."

"No, what is it?" Eliana asked as she went over and took the spell book from Toby. "If we bind Elena's soul to someone, she'll live," she continued what Toby had started to say. Everybody in the room perked up. "... but the person she's bound to will die. A life for a life."

The room went silent, then, Jeremy spoke up.

"I'll do it. Bind my soul to hers."

"No!" Bonnie immediately interjected. "You'll die, Jeremy!"

"It's our only shot to save Elena, Bonnie. I'm doing it and you can't stop me."

"Okay, wait, wait, wait. Calm down," Esmeralda cut in. "We'll bookmark this spell and keep it in our pool of options and if we can't find anything else, we'll come back to it. Alright?"

The front door opened and closed before anyone else could say anything. Elowen walked into the room. Binx excitedly bounded up to her while wagging his tail. She stopped in surprise when she saw Jeremy and Bonnie.

"What are you guys doing here?" She asked warily.

"We're here to help," Bonnie responded. "I know you're not sure who to trust right now, but you can trust us. We're not going to run to Stefan and Damon when this is all said and done."

Elowen relaxed. She knew she was telling the truth. "Okay. Please tell me you've found something, because I just made a deal with Isobel and Katherine and it's already been put into motion."

"You what?!"

"Katherine?!"

"You've got to be kidding."

Elowen grimaced at everyone's reactions. Jeremy, Bonnie and Toby were the ones who yelled at her, in that order. Esmeralda was just looking at her with wide eyes. Eliana was the one who broke the silence. She lifted her hand in the air.

"Hi, yeah. I have a question. Who the hell is Katherine?"

"A bad guy," Toby answered. "That's all you need to know."

"Sometimes, you have to team up with the bad guy to get what you want," Sydney said. Everyone except Elowen and Eliana turned to stare at her. She shrugged. "What? It's true. Almost every protagonist does it at least once."

"Look," Elowen started to say. "It's already been done. Katherine has the moonstone; I put a tracking spell on her so I can follow where she goes and it'll lead me right to Klaus. Isobel's supposed to get Elena, so please, for the love of god, will someone tell me whether or not we've found something to help her?"

Everybody took turns looking at each other. Elowen waited expectantly. In the end, it was Toby who spoke up.

"Not exactly. The only thing we've found is a spell that will bind Elena and another living human together, but that means she lives and they die. It's all we've got."

Elowen shook her head. "Nobody else is dying. We have to find something and we have to do it fast." She turned to Esmeralda. "I think it's time we did the spell."

"I want to come," Jeremy said immediately. Bonnie nodded her head.

"Me, too. If we both harness the witches, we'll have double the power to defeat Klaus. We can do this."

After a beat, Elowen nodded her head. "Okay. Let's go."

**xxxx**

"How did you even find this place?" Bonnie asked Esmeralda as they walked through the woods. She shrugged.

"It was an accident, really. I came across old records at the public library that said there was a terrible fire centuries ago and that dozens of people died inside the house it happened in. It reminded me of something I'd read in one of the grimoires that had been passed down to me and I went to find it to see if it matched up. It did and I knew it couldn't be a coincidence. A quick locator spell told me where to look, and, well, here we are."

They came to a clearing where an old, abandoned, run down house sat. They all stopped in front of it.

"You're sure this is the right place?" Jeremy asked as they approached the house. Esmeralda nodded.

"I'm sure."

They all entered the house and separated as they walked around. Elowen was the one who was holding the correct grimoire and Esmeralda was trailing behind her. Bonnie and Jeremy were in a different room. Suddenly, voices started to whisper all around them and all four of them stopped and listened.

"What is that?" Jeremy questioned as he looked around, trying to find the source of the voices.

"The spirits of the witches who died here," Bonnie responded. "I can feel them."

"Me, too," Elowen said.

"Same here," Esmeralda piped up.

"Alright. What are they saying?" Jeremy asked.

"I can't tell," Elowen replied. Her, Bonnie and Esmeralda all started to venture down into the basement. Jeremy carefully followed behind them.

"Where are you guys going?" He asked.

Nobody answered him. They all stopped in the middle of the basement. The whispers had gotten considerably louder and Jeremy looked around again.

"Here. This is it," Bonnie said. "Help us set the candles."

Jeremy started to pull a candle out of the bag he was holding and continued to look around the room. "What the hell are they saying?"

Bonnie, Esmeralda and Elowen all closed their eyes and concentrated. It was a warning.

_We will help you in your quest to beat Klaus, however, channeling all of us is dangerous and comes with risk. If you overuse your powers, it will kill you. If you choose to continue, we will not stop you. Be careful and choose wisely._

All three of them reopened their eyes and glanced at each other. Elowen was already defending her choice to do this to Esmeralda before she could open her mouth.

"I'll take all the precautions I can, I promise. You have to let me do this. Please."

"Precautions?" Jeremy questioned from beside her. "What kind of precautions? What's going on? What did the voices say?"

"Nothing," Bonnie quickly told him. "Nothing important. Just some advice, is all."

"Bonnie is not doing this alone," Elowen whispered to Esmeralda. "You can't stop me."

She left her mom and went to the middle with Bonnie to help set up the candles. When they were done, the candles lit themselves.

"They're ready," Bonnie stated. Her and Elowen took hands and closed their eyes again. The whispering voices kept getting louder and louder until the both of them started to cry out in pain. Their screams echoed out in the empty house and Esmeralda and Jeremy tried to run forward in alarm, but were each thrown against the wall when they got too close. Neither of them could move or get up. Elowen and Bonnie's screaming intensified and got louder before the voices abruptly stopped. Jeremy and Esmeralda quickly got to their feet and rushed over to the both of them.

"Are you guys okay?" Jeremy asked as he took Bonnie in his arms. Esmeralda did the same with Elowen.

"We did it," Elowen told them before she fell over. Esmeralda caught her. Her and Jeremy shared a look and nodded.

"Let's get you two out of here. Come on."

Without even packing up the candles, Jeremy and Esmeralda started to lead Elowen and Bonnie back up the stairs and towards the front door.

**xxxx**

**Author's Note**: I'm super excited because next chapter Klaus finally gets introduced! I have a feeling you guys will like it, or at least I hope you do. Hope you enjoyed this one!


	33. Chapter 33

At the Lockwood Mansion, Elena and Stefan were waiting for Carol to announce the donation in Elena's mom's name. She was the only one left on Stefan and Damon's 'team' because she believed two vampires were stronger than a bunch of witches and a werewolf. She still couldn't believe Bonnie had ditched her, even though Bonnie promised that that wasn't the case. Regardless of her reason, Elena was starting to doubt putting her trust in Stefan and Damon.

"And here to accept the donation to the Miranda Sommers-Gilbert scholarship fund is Elena Gilbert," Carol finally said. Elena smiled and joined Carol on the stage.

"The Historical Society was my mom's baby," Elena started her speech. "She considered all of you family and would be honored and touched by this gift."

Suddenly, there was a loud noise and Stefan was the first one to leave the room to see what it was. John Gilbert laid at the foot of the stairs, dead. He turned his neck to the side and saw two bite marks. Carol made her way to the front and addressed the crowd.

"Please, let the sheriff do her job."

Sheriff Forbes moved through the crowd and crouched down next to Stefan.

"Uh, he's- he's bleeding," he stuttered out quickly and acted dumb. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, I got it. I got it." Sheriff Forbes looked down and also noticed the bite marks. She stood and started to push the crowd back before they saw anything. "You know what? Let's all back off. He just needs some air. Everything's fine."

Stefan got away and went back to check on Elena, except now it was Katherine posing as Elena. She'd handed Elena off to Isobel when she was alone and Isobel was long gone by now.

"You okay?" He asked and Katherine nodded her head.

"I'm calling Damon," she replied.

"Let's get out of here. Come on."

Stefan grabbed onto her hand and pulled her out of the house. Katherine was on the phone as they were walking towards Elena's car.

"It's Isobel, Damon," she was saying into Elena's phone. "It's gotta be."

"Tell him he needs to get over here and deal with John's body," Stefan told her.

"You've got some serious explaining to do to the council about John being not so dead."

Katherine hung up the phone and Stefan pushed her against Elena's car roughly.

"Where the hell is she, huh?"

Katherine stabbed him with a syringe full of vervain and he slumped against her.

"I'm sorry, Stef, but I can't have you following me."

She tossed him into the bushes and left.

**xxxx**

Caroline and Josiah were climbing the steps of Caroline's porch in defeat. Caroline was leaving yet another message for Matt, whom they failed to find no matter how hard they tried.

"Hey, Matt, if you're listening to this, that means you've listened to the last 25 messages I've left you, which all say the same thing, so… call me." Caroline hung up the phone and sighed loudly. Josiah had stopped dead and she lightly bumped into him.

"Look." He gestured through the window on her front door. Matt was standing just inside. They both looked at each other and Caroline stepped forward to unlock the door.

"You're here," Caroline said quietly when she went inside. Josiah followed and closed the door behind him.

"Your mom brought me here," Matt told her. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"My mom?"

"I accused her of covering up Vicki's dead and she threatened to arrest me."

"Did you tell her anything else?" Caroline asked anxiously. Even Josiah seemed worried.

"Nothing about you."

Josiah and Caroline both let out audible sighs of relief.

"I got the feeling she wasn't gonna believe anything I said, so I shut up. She brought me here to cool down and then she got called away."

Caroline sighed and walked closer to Matt, but he took a large step backwards. She stopped.

"Why'd you stick around if you're still scared of me?"

"Because I need to know more about Vicki, about you," Matt glanced at Josiah, "how you fit into the equation. Everything."

Josiah nodded. "We'll tell you anything you want to know." He cast a look at Caroline. "Come on. Sheriff Forbes could come back at any minute. Let's go to your room."

Caroline moved past both Matt and Josiah towards her room. They followed quietly. Hopefully, this wouldn't backfire.

**xxxx**

When Elowen and Esmeralda were back at their house, Esmeralda immediately pulled her daughter into the living room and turned on her.

"Are you crazy?" She whisper yelled. She didn't want Sydney and Eliana to know they were home yet and it was a miracle Binx hadn't come running into the room. "If you're not careful, you could _die_. Why did you still go through with it? Why did you decide to drag Bonnie into it, too?"

"You're one to talk. You didn't try to stop me. You didn't even put up a fight. And I didn't drag Bonnie into anything, she came all on her own. That's on her. Look, mom, this is our only shot at killing Klaus, so unless you have any other ideas, this is it. This is what we've got."

"You can't go through with it. I can't lose you."

"You won't. I'll be careful. When am I not careful?"

"This doesn't sound like something you can just 'be careful' of. If you die-"

"Die?" Toby's voice cut in. He'd never left after Elowen, Bonnie, Jeremy and Esmeralda took off. Sydney and Eliana were in their room with Binx watching tv and he'd been in there with them, but had come down to go to the kitchen for a snack when he overheard the conversation. "What's going on? Why are you talking about dying?"

Elowen grimaced when she heard Toby behind her. Esmeralda crossed her arms.

"Do you want to tell him or should I?"

Elowen slowly turned around and faced Toby. She mentally took a deep breath. "It's nothing serious. Channeling all of those witches is a lot of power and I just have to make sure I don't use too much of it at once."

Toby warily walked into the room. "Okay, but why is dying the topic here? What aren't you telling me?"

Elowen sighed. Toby was one of the few people she just couldn't lie to. She didn't have it in her. "Magic doesn't come without consequences. The consequence here is that there's a possibility I could die."

"_What?_"

"It's just a possibility! It's not that big of a deal."

"'_Not that big of a deal_'? You're kidding me, right? There's a chance you could die and you're really gonna sit here and tell me not to worry?"

"There's nothing to worry about because I'll be fine! I'll be fine. Look, you can't tell anyone, alright? If everyone knows, they'll freak out and if everyone is freaking out, we'll never get anything done. Please."

Toby and Esmeralda looked at each other. Before either of them could say anything, the front door blew open and Stefan and Damon came rushing through. The loud noise was enough to bring Eliana and Sydney downstairs, followed by Binx. They all ignored his growling when he saw Stefan and Damon.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Elowen asked, her voice a mix between confusion and aggression. She was still mad at them and didn't want to see them, so them just bursting through her door was obviously unwelcome.

"Isobel and Katherine took Elena," Stefan told her quickly. "I know you want nothing to do with us, but we need your help. You're all we've got."

"Elena will be fine," Elowen told him nonchalantly. "Isobel promised me Klaus wouldn't do the ritual without a full moon."

"Isobel?" Came Damon's incredulous voice. "Wen, what did you do?"

"I did what I had to in order to lure Klaus out. The rest doesn't concern you. Get out."

"We're not leaving until you tell us what's going on," Stefan said. "We know you've been looking for the sight of the witch massacre."

"And we found it. Is that all?"

Toby stood in between Elowen and Stefan and Damon. "I think it's best you leave."

"Shut it, you mutt," Damon snapped. "We weren't talking to you."

Eliana, not liking how Damon was talking to Toby, let go of Binx's collar. She'd been holding him back this whole time and watched as he lunged at Damon and roughly bit his hand. Damon yelled in pain and, on reflex, kicked Binx away. Binx whined loudly and landed a foot or two away. The reaction was almost immediate.

Sydney and Eliana rushed forward to check on Binx while Toby started for Damon with a deep glower on his face. It took both Elowen and Esmeralda to keep him back.

"Boys, if you don't leave willingly, we will remove you by force," Esmeralda told Stefan and Damon with so much animosity in her tone that they weren't sure it was coming from her at first. Damon was getting ready to refuse when Stefan grabbed onto his arm.

"We understand. Let's go, Damon."

After they were gone, Esmeralda turned on Elowen.

"What part of your deal with Isobel and Katherine did you leave out?"

"Long story short, I'm giving Klaus everything he needs to complete the ritual," Elowen replied. "He'll come out of hiding and then Bonnie and I can kill him once and for all."

"You mean you just handed Elena over?" Toby asked in disbelief.

"The sacrifice would've been done one way or another, remember? Why else would we be looking for spells to help save her? I did what had to be done. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a tracking spell that I need to check on."

Elowen moved past everyone and went up to her room, leaving everybody else in the room looking at each other dumbly.

**xxxx**

"I really wish you'd say something," Caroline was saying to Matt. Him, her and Josiah were all in the living room. They'd started out in Caroline's bedroom, but when it became apparent that Sheriff Forbes wasn't coming home any time soon, they moved out there instead.

"... I'm all alone," Matt said quietly, at last.

"No, you're not," Caroline tried to comfort him, but Matt shook his head.

"My mom doesn't care, my sister's dead and all of my friends are liars, and you're a… and he's a…"

"Hey, we're still us," Josiah gently told him. "We're still us, we're just a little bit…" He shrugged. Caroline came and sat next to Matt, who immediately got up and away from her.

"Don't. No. This is too much. All of this is just _too_ much. I don't want to know this."

"Tell me what I can do," Caroline practically begged. "Tell me what I can do. I… We want to help you."

"You can make me forget. You said that's something you can do, right? Make me forget?"

"I don't-" Caroline started to shake her head. "I don't think that that's-"

"Please make me forget, Caroline. I don't want to look at you, either of you, and see what I'm seeing right now."

Josiah placed a hand on Caroline's shoulder when she opened her mouth to protest. She looked at him helplessly as he nodded his head.

"It's okay. It's what he wants."

It took Caroline a few moments to respond or do anything. Finally, she stood up wordlessly and took Matt's face in her hands.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled to him lowly. "About everything."

Then, she compelled him.

**xxxx**

"Is that Isobel's?" Stefan asked Elena as he walked in the room. She'd been let go and returned back home after Isobel and Katherine kidnapped her. Isobel had ripped her daylight necklace off and burned to death in front of Elena and she'd kept the piece of jewelry. Elena nodded her head.

"I never thought I would feel bad about her being dead, and yet…"

"She was your mother."

"Why did they let me go? I mean, if what you told me was true, then even Elowen was in on it. Can't you ask her?"

"I don't even think she knows you're back. It sounded like she made a deal with Isobel to draw Klaus out and, well, regardless of how this played out, it obviously worked."

Elena shook her head with a sigh. "I want Klaus dead just as much as everybody else, but I can't believe Elowen would do that to me. I mean, yeah, we're not exactly friends, but…"

"She's doing what she thinks is right. I'm not justifying what she did, but she's just… Look, anything John said to Isobel, we have to assume that Klaus knows, right? So, he knows that you're not gonna turn yourself into a vampire. He knows that you have us keeping you safe."

"He knows I'm not gonna run."

Damon walked into the room holding a stack of papers. "Which is why we need to take some precautions, cause we got played, all of us." He dropped said stack of papers onto Elena's lap. She looked down at them in confusion.

"What's this?"

"It's the deed to our house," Stefan informed her. "It's in Zach's name. As soon as you sign it, it'll be in your name."

"You're giving me your house?" Elena asked in surprise.

"Isobel had the right idea with the safe house. You'll just stay here till it's all over. That way, you can control who gets invited and who doesn't."

"Although, I'll be super pissed if you lock me out," Damon commented. "Also, for the record, if Elowen wasn't going on her little tangent, the deed would _so_ be going to her instead."

John, who'd been lying on the floor for hours ever since Isobel killed him, finally sat up with a gasp. Damon sped over to him, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up.

"Damon, let him go," Elena ordered. "He and I need to talk."

Stefan and Damon moved to the library while Elena and John talked in the living room. Stefan was pouring them each a glass of bourbon.

"We've got to assume that Elowen did the spell to harness the witches' power if she said they found the spot of the massacre," Damon said as he came over and took his glass from Stefan. "Probably Bonnie, too, since our only witch left decided to head over to the other team."

"It's also probably safe to assume that Isobel might've known since apparently her and Elowen had some kind of deal. Maybe Katherine, too."

"And she's who knows where. Probably finally got tired and left, good riddance."

"We've gotta do something about Elowen. We'll work better together, not separated. I think it's time we apologized to her. Properly."

Damon scoffed. "I'm not sorry for lying to her. Daggering Elijah was our smartest option. She was going to just up and leave with him, Stefan. She's so obsessed with this Marisol chick it's starting to get unhealthy."

"And maybe we should help her. If we'd just done that from the start, there's a possibility that she never would've resorted to running away with Elijah in the first place. Be smart about this, Damon. Without her, we've got nothing."

Damon clenched his jaw. Stefan was right. He downed his drink in one gulp. "Fine. We'll go see her tomorrow and try to talk it out like adults."

"Thank you. In the meantime, let's focus on Elena."

"Yeah, whatever."

**xxxx**

Elowen furrowed her eyebrows. She had a map of Mystic Falls spread out on the floor of her bedroom and a ring placed on said map. The ring was supposed to represent Katherine and it moved wherever she did. Elowen had been keeping track of the ring for the last hour or so and it hadn't moved since then. When she finally checked the street it had circled around, she realized it was the street Alaric lived on.

Getting up, Elowen grabbed her jacket and her car keys and headed downstairs. Toby had finally left shortly after Stefan and Damon did, Esmeralda was working in her study and Sydney, Eliana and Binx were settled in the living room. Josiah was probably still at Caroline's. It was easier said than done to slip out the front door without anybody noticing.

**xxxx**

Elowen walked down the hallway to Alaric's apartment when she arrived at the apartment complex. She'd just made it to his door when somebody grabbed onto her and covered her mouth.

"Found you, you little bitch."

It was Luis, hissing into her ear. Elowen shoved herself backwards and rammed Luis into the wall behind them. It was a miracle the loud bang didn't send people into the hall to inspect what it was. It wasn't enough to shake him off of her, so she bit his hand, which did the trick in getting him to remove it from her mouth.

"Ric!" She yelled. "Ric, help! Ric!"

"That poor excuse of a man won't help you. You'll be dead before he could even try."

Luis yanked her head to the side and sank his fangs into her neck. She screamed and struggled around in his vice grip. It was no use.

The front door to Alaric's apartment opened and Alaric came into view. He stopped completely at the sight. Klaus had already taken over his body and he quite literally didn't know what was going on or who the two people in front of him were. Katherine hadn't gotten that far yet. Hell, he almost didn't even respond to Elowen's cries of 'Ric!' because it didn't click in his head that that was the name of the man he was possessing.

"Help… help me," Elowen weakly called out. She could feel herself beginning to slump against Luis and black dots were starting to coat her vision. "Ric… please."

Alaric, or better yet, Klaus, finally came to and rushed forward. While he was in a human body, he still had his ability to compel and some of his super strength (it was considerably weaker, but it was enough to fight a vampire), so he was able to easily push Luis off of Elowen. She fell to the ground, only half lucid and barely aware of her surroundings, as Luis staggered back.

"You," Luis growled, blood dripping down his face. "I think it's time I killed you."

Klaus tried his hardest not to laugh. Young vampires were always so… ambitious and pretentious. This one clearly needed somebody to put him in his place. Luis sped forward, but Klaus, already expecting this, grabbed onto him and snapped his neck. He crumpled to the floor in a heap of limbs. Klaus looked down at him in disgust.

A very feeble groan caught his attention and he turned his eyes from Luis to Elowen. He just about froze in his spot. He hadn't gotten a good look at her face before, but now, with the hallway lights shining down on her face, he saw her perfectly.

"Marisol?" Klaus heard himself say before he could stop himself. "Impossible…"

Elowen's eyes fell shut and, before realizing he was doing it, Klaus bent over and picked her up bridal style in his arms. He gently brought her into the apartment and Katherine sat up in her seat at the sight of her.

"Tell me everything you know about this girl," Klaus demanded. "Now."

_Marisol skipped up to her precious Nik with her hands behind her back. He was sitting just outside their cottage, resting his eyes as he sat back on a chair. She stopped in front of him, a wide smile on her face, and waited for him to open his eyes._

_Sensing her presence, Nik opened one eye. He opened the other when he saw it was her. Marisol excitedly pulled the gift she had out from behind her back and proudly showed it to him._

"_Look at what I made you!"_

_It was a crown made from branches, twigs and flowers. She was wearing one similar on her head already. She'd even made one for Elijah, who accepted it gratefully and was walking around the village with it on. When she saw how Elijah reacted to it, she hurriedly made one for Nik, too. Her relationship with Nik was very one sided. She absolutely adored him, but he usually barely acknowledged her. He ignored her a lot, often pushed her to the side and hardly ever initiated conversation with her. Elijah was always criticizing him for this._

_She's just a child, he would say. Be nice to her._

_Nik looked at the flower crown, unimpressed and impassive. Marisol faltered when he didn't say anything. She cast her eyes to the ground._

"_You don't like it."_

_Nik sighed and took the crown from her hands, deciding to play along for once. He placed it on his head and lifted her chin up with his index finger._

"_What do you think?" He asked her. "Does it make me look pretty?"_

_A small smile reappeared on Marisol's lips. She giggled and nodded her head._

"_Very pretty. Maybe if I could braid your hair-!"_

"_No," was Nik's immediate reply. Marisol actually jumped lightly at his brash tone._

"_Oh," she said very quietly, voice barely above a whisper. "'M sorry for bothering you. I'll go now."_

_Marisol turned and started to walk away, her head hung low. Nik closed his eyes and sighed again, this time much deeper. He couldn't believe he was actually about to do this._

"_Wait," he called out. He opened his eyes and waited for Marisol to turn back around. "I'll let you do it, but only if you promise to not make me look ridiculous."_

_Marisol's eyes lit up and she came running back towards him. "Really? I'll do my best, I promise!"_

_She was already taking the crown off of his head and positioning herself behind the chair he was sitting in so she could start braiding his long hair. Elijah was approaching the cottage, stopped and quickly hid when he saw what was going on a few yards away. He knew that if he made himself known, 'Nik', as Marisol affectionately called him, would stop what he was doing and act like nothing had even happened. He wanted Marisol to have this one moment with him, even if it only occurred once. _

_He smiled softly at Marisol's huge grin and Nik's grumbling face and he knew. Nik was finally letting her in._

**xxxx**

**Author's Note: **I'm super excited for the next chapter to be uploaded because we get to see Elowen interact with Klaus for the first time! I hope you guys enjoyed this one :)


	34. Chapter 34

It was morning now. Katherine had been compelled to stay in a chair in the middle of the room and Elowen was still unconscious on the floor. Katherine offered no real information about her, just that she was a witch, held the power of premonition, was a Ramirez, had an entire family backing her and was Stefan and Damon's ex girlfriend. She knew nothing about the whole Marisol ordeal because Stefan and Damon never talked about it when she was around.

Klaus was currently looking through Alaric's closet for something to wear. "Ugh! Who is this guy, Safari Sam?" He took out two shirts and turned to show them to Katherine. "Okay, bad, or badder?"

"The dark colors suit you better," Katherine replied with a tight lipped smile. She kept glancing at Elowen as if she would wake up any minute and save her ass. She wasn't lying when she said she was warming up to her. Yeah, she was still dating Stefan, but she reminded Katherine of herself and she may or may not have admired that.

"Oh, thank you, honey." Klaus started to put the shirt on. "Okay, pop quiz. The dagger and white ash are in the Salvatores' possession, correct?"

"The dagger was used to kill Elijah. You'll find him in the basement of the Salvatore house."

"Okay, that dagger needs to stay exactly where it is. The last thing I need to do is resurrect Elijah. Oh, that guy is a buzzkill."

"Don't forget you're dating Esmeralda."

"Right." Klaus glanced at Elowen. "This one's mother."

"You have to watch out for her. She's an empath. She'll smell you from a mile away."

"Which is why I've already had my witch cast a spell to mask my emotions. She'll never know."

"Won't she get suspicious if she won't be able to feel you at all?"

"Are you doubting me, Katerina?"

"No," Katherine said quickly. Klaus walked closer to her and touched her face. Katherine flinched away. Klaus tsked.

"So jumpy."

"Please, just… just kill me. I've told you everything that I know."

Klaus put his hands on the armrests of the chair Katherine was in and leaned in to her face. Katherine tried to inch away.

"You see, I believe that you believe that, but what would you not know? What could they be keeping from you? Hmm? Anything? Tell me."

Klaus compelled her and Katherine felt the words spilling from her mouth.

"It's not Stefan and Damon, but Elowen. She told me that Elijah believed that if a witch channeled enough power, they could kill an Original. She said she was close to achieving this."

"Hmm," Klaus hummed and glanced back down at Elowen. "Interesting."

"Please, just kill me, Klaus, and be done with it."

"And show you kindness? I've searched for you for over 500 years. Your death is going to last at least half that long."

Klaus reached into his pocket and took a pocket knife out of it, opened it and held it out to Katherine. He was about to give her an order when suddenly, Elowen gasped and shot up into a sitting position.

"Elowen?" Katherine questioned. Elowen was looking around her surroundings erratically and started scrambling to her feet.

"Where am I? Where's- Where's Elijah? Those men killed him. Where is he? Where's Nik?"

Katherine frowned. "Elowen, what are you talking about? Who's Nik?"

"Why do you keep calling me that? Who's Elowen? My name is Marisol."

Like before, Elowen's voice started to grow heavy with a Spanish accent and she kept stepping backwards and away from Katherine, who watched her in confusion.

Klaus perked up at this. He started talking careful steps towards her.

"Marisol," he called out. She turned to him, breathing heavily and on the verge of a panic attack, but when her eyes made contact with his, her breathing started to even out. Slowly, Klaus came to stop just in front of her. She simply stared at him for awhile.

"... Nik?" She asked quietly. Klaus nodded his head. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and crashed forward into his arms. "Oh, Nik! I thought that because Elijah was dead, something bad had happened to you." She pulled back and placed her hands on either side of Alaric's face. "Why are you in somebody else's body?"

Klaus gently took Marisol's hands into his own. "I'm trying to blend in. What's the last thing you remember?"

Marisol racked her brain, but realized most of her memories were blank. "Um… I don't know. Kol, I think. He was trying to... To get me to run away with him." She tried to think harder, but her head was starting to hurt. "I don't understand. What about the ritual?"

"Marisol… The year is 2010. You've been dead for over 400 years."

Marisol drew her hands away from Klaus as if she'd been burned. She shook her head.

"No. No! I'm standing right here! You're wrong! _I'm standing right here!_"

Before Klaus could say anything else, Marisol lost her balance and fainted. Klaus quickly caught her. She came to rather swiftly, except when she opened her eyes, her hand clamped over her neck where she'd been bitten and she looked around wildly.

"Where is he?" She asked frantically. "Where's Luis? He was just here."

It was Klaus's turn to be confused. He watched as she made a beeline for the front door and pried it open. She looked out into the hallway and saw it was empty. She just about slammed the door shut and came back into the apartment.

"He's out. He's out of the tomb. Oh, god. I need to tell mom and Josiah. They need to know. Where's my phone?"

All of her words came out fast and rushed and if you weren't paying attention, you wouldn't be able to understand her.

"... Elowen?" Katherine asked warily. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me! Who else would I be?" Reality seemed to catch up to her and she took a cautious step back. "Why are you here? Where's Ric?"

Katherine looked behind her and Elowen gradually turned around. Alaric was standing in front of her, but it wasn't Alaric. Elowen swallowed and tried to stay calm.

"Klaus," she said, managing to keep her cool. "What have you done with Alaric?"

"Oh, he's fine. He's… shall we say, asleep, so to speak. Now, I don't think we've been properly introduced. You are?"

"None of your business."

"Ooh, feisty. I like it. I guess there's no need for introductions, considering Katerina has told me everything I need to know. Elowen, right?"

"You can't keep me here. No one cares what happens to Katherine, but I'll have people looking for me. They probably are right now. I didn't tell anyone where I went last night."

As if on cue, Alaric's phone started to ring. Klaus walked over to the table where it sat and picked it up.

"Oh look, if it isn't my girlfriend." He showed the screen to Elowen, where Esmeralda's name flashed across the screen. She tried to cross the room in time to snatch the phone away, but Klaus had already answered it. "Hello, love."

"Have you seen Elowen?" Came Esmeralda's voice through the line in a frenzy. "She's not in her room and she's not answering her phone."

"Relax, she's here with me. See?"

Klaus handed over the phone and gave a look that said, 'Be careful'. Elowen took the phone in her hand and put it up to her ear.

"Hi, mom," she said while never taking her eyes off of Klaus. "Ric needed help grading papers last night and I just forgot to tell you. I'm sorry."

Esmeralda sighed in relief. "Oh, thank god. Don't do that to me. You know I hate it."

"I know. Look, I'll be home soon, okay? It's early enough for me to still get ready for school. If I'm not home in 15, come get me."

"Okay, honey. I'll see you soon."

"Bye, mom."

Elowen hung up the phone and handed it back to Klaus, who nodded in approval.

"Good girl. One more thing before we get you home."

Klaus once again took hold of the pocket knife he had before Elowen had woken up and walked back over to Katherine. He handed it over to her.

"I want you to take this knife… and stab yourself."

Katherine slowly took the knife from Klaus, hesitated, and then finally jammed it into her leg. Elowen slightly jumped at this.

"Now, take it out," Klaus ordered. Katherine did as she was told. The stab wound healed up immediately. "Now, while I'm gone, I want you to do that over and over and over again and if you get bored, switch legs." He smiled as he turned to face Elowen. "Let's get you home, shall we?"

**xxxx**

"Oh my god, who did this to you?" Esmeralda asked immediately upon seeing the bite marks on Elowen's neck and the dried blood on the collar of her shirt.

"Luis is out," Elowen replied. Esmeralda's face went slack.

"What?"

"He attacked me last night when I was at Ric's place. If it weren't for him, I'd be dead right now."

"Well, where is he now?"

Elowen shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not sure I want to know."

Klaus stood there dumbly, nearly refusing to say anything. Katherine didn't tell him anything about this Luis person and he was slightly afraid that he would say the wrong thing and give away his disguise before he got any real information out of this. He was really glad he'd had his witch place that emotion cloaking spell on him, because if the empath could feel his emotions right now, he'd be toast.

"I'm sorry, did I hear you right?" Eliana came into the room with Sydney in tow. "Luis escaped from the one place he wasn't supposed to be able to escape?"

"This is bad, isn't it?" Sydney asked. "I mean, he's a vampire now. He can do more harm to you that way. I was always scared he might snap and actually kill you when he was human, but now? He can really do it."

Klaus had to stop his eyes from widening. Who the hell were these two? It looks like Katherine wasn't as in the loop as she had thought, because she most certainly did not say anything about the women in front of him. Acting quickly, he pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the front door.

"I better get going. School, you know?"

Esmeralda nodded. "Right." She examined the bite marks on Elowen's neck. "We need to get you cleaned up. Come on, off you go." She steered Elowen up the stairs and Eliana and Sydney followed her up. Esmeralda stayed behind with who she thought was Alaric. "Thank you for getting her home safely. I know it's daylight and he can't get her during the day, but it still means a lot. You know how much of a worrier I am."

"Yeah." Klaus managed a laugh. "You're welcome."

Esmeralda gave him a lopsided smile and leaned up to give him a kiss. Klaus kissed her back, but obviously he must've hesitated or appeared uncertain or _something_, because when Esmeralda pulled back, her eyebrows were furrowed together.

"Is everything alright?" She asked. "You seem... Distant. Like you're not all here."

"I'm fine. Just don't wanna be late for work."

"Right. You should go."

He leaned down and gave a quick kiss to Esmeralda's cheek before disappearing through the front door. Esmeralda stared at the door for a minute. Something didn't seem quite right.

Dismissing it, as she had more important things to worry about, she turned and went upstairs to help Eliana and Sydney help Elowen get ready for school. If she'd dwelled on it any longer, she would've realized she couldn't feel his emotions.

Klaus stopped at the end of the walkway to the porch and turned back to glance at the house before leaving with a smirk on his face.

**xxxx**

"Do you think she's okay?" Damon asked Stefan. They were waiting outside the boarding house as Elena finished up signing papers that turned the deed over to her. Stefan glanced at him in the corners of his eyes.

"Elowen? I don't know. She's really good at pretending to be okay, but that doesn't mean she is. I'm worried about her."

"Me, too." Damon sighed loudly. "I think you're right, baby brother. Maybe it _is_ time to apologize."

The front door opened and the lawyer left the house.

"Thank you, Mr. Henry," Elena told him before walking back into the house. Stefan and Damon walked towards the door, but stopped at the threshold. Elena needed to invite them in. She turned back around when she realized they weren't right behind her.

"I'm sorry. I completely forgot." She looked at Stefan. "Would you like to come into my house?"

"I would love to," Stefan replied and walked into the house. "Thank you."

She looked at Damon and didn't say anything. Damon rolled his eyes.

"What are we, 12?"

"One of us is." Elena crossed her arms. "If I let you in, do you promise to obey the owner of this house?"

"No. Remember, Elena, Elowen is supposed to be standing in your spot."

"But, she's not. Now, do you or do you not promise to obey the owner of this house?"

"Yes, Elena," Damon sarcastically responded. "Sure."

Elena ignored his tone and gestured for him to come in. "Then, I invite you into this house."

Damon entered the house and scowled at Stefan's amused face. "Shut up."

Elena went over and grabbed her jacket that was hanging over the side of the couch in the living room. She started collecting the rest of her things and Stefan and Damon came to stand in her way.

"Where are you going?" Stefan asked.

"To school," Elena replied as if it were obvious.

"Huh?"

"No, no, no," Damon said. "We didn't create a safe house for you to leave it."

"Yeah," Stefan agreed. "Klaus is out there. We know that."

"Right. But where?" Elena asked. "No one knows. Look, I really appreciate what you guys are doing, especially considering I know you're only keeping me safe because by default, you're keeping Elowen safe. You don't actually care what happens to me."

"That's not true," Stefan defended, but Damon snorted.

"Yes, it is."

"See? Look, I'll be able to sleep at night knowing that I'll be safe here, but I'm not going to be a prisoner," Elena told them. "Besides, we're under the impression that both Elowen and Bonnie have done the spell, right? The way I see it, at school with those two is the safest place to be."

Elena left through the front door. Stefan sighed and followed after her.

"Wait! I'm coming."

The door closed, leaving Damon by himself.

**xxxx**

Elowen settled into her usual seat in the back. She had a scarf around her neck and bowed her head lowly as if to try and get people to not notice her. She even sunk down in her chair and didn't make eye contact with anyone, not even Stefan when he walked into the room and eyed the scarf suspiciously. Klaus in Alaric's body entered the class just as the bell rang.

"Hello, class," he announced. "What are we learning today?"

"With the decade dance tonight, we've been covering the 60s all week," said a girl Elowen remembered was named Dana.

"Right. The 60s." Klaus saw Elena and looked at her for a long moment before turning back to the board. He started to write 'The Sixties' on said board. "The, uh, ahem. The sixties. I wish there was something good I could say about the sixties, but… Actually, they kind of sucked. Except for the Beatles, of course. They made it bearable. Uh, what else was there? The Cuban missile thing, the… we walked on the moon. There was Watergate."

"Watergate was the 70s, Ric," Elena spoke up with a smile. She cleared her throat when she realized what she'd called him. "I- I mean, Mr. Saltzman."

"Right. It all kind of mushes together up here. The sixties, the seventies. Thank you, Elena."

**xxxx**

After class, Stefan caught up with Elowen. When she saw him coming up to her, she quickly sped up her pace and tried to shove her way through the crowd to get away from him. He managed to catch her anyway.

"Hey. Did something happen?" He asked worriedly when he reached her. "What's with the scarf?"

"Please leave me alone, Stefan," Elowen replied shortly, desperate to get away. "I don't want to talk."

"Look, I know you're still mad at me, but you know that you can talk to me. Always."

"I know, but right now really isn't a good time, okay? I won't ask you again. Please leave me alone."

"Is there a problem here?" Alaric/Klaus asked, coming out of nowhere. Stefan backed off when he showed up. He knew that Alaric would always put Esmeralda and the kids before anyone else in their little gang. He also knew that he would do anything for them to make sure no harm ever came to them, and right now, Stefan was a threat in her eyes.

"No. I was just leaving."

As Stefan left, Klaus turned to Elowen with a smirk.

"I have a question. Why haven't you run off and told everyone I'm here, hmm?"

"I don't know," Elowen answered honestly. Just like with Elijah, she wanted to _help_ him, _protect_ him. She felt like she _knew_ him. And she didn't know why, and it drove her absolutely insane. If Marisol was supposed to be the doppelganger's replacement like her mom said, then Klaus no doubt knew Marisol as well. Maybe… maybe, he had answers.

"Well, whatever your reason, it's the smartest choice you could make. Don't even think for a second that I won't kill you. I only need one Ramirez."

"Yeah, except I'm the only one who looks like Marisol."

A look of mild surprise crossed Klaus's face.

"Yeah, I know about her. I know that Elijah cared about her and you must've, too, right? If anything, _I'm_ the one who want. I'm the oldest, which means I'm stronger than my brother. I'm younger than my mom, so I've still got my whole life ahead of me. If you're so smart, then why on earth would you take anyone else?"

The bell rang, indicating class was now in session.

"Better get back to your class, _Ric_."

Elowen turned and walked off into the now empty halls, leaving Klaus on his own.

**xxxx**

"Damon?" Elowen called out loudly.

She'd ditched school after she left Klaus in the hallways. Knowing Luis was out of the tomb, combined with Klaus being in Alaric's body was enough to push her over the edge. She was overwhelmed, to say the least, and she didn't want to think about it right now. Which is how she found herself standing in the middle of the Salvatore boarding house.

Damon appeared in the room within seconds. He thought he was imagining her voice at first and he had to come check to make sure he wasn't going crazy. He paused at the sight of her. He was suddenly speechless. He'd rehearsed so many apology speeches in his head, but all of them disappeared from his mind when he saw her.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. He was supposed to go to her, not the other way around. This wasn't how he pictured this happening in his head. Why was she even here? Last he checked, she was pissed.

"Hey," Damon greeted, suddenly breathless. "What are you doing here?"

Instead of answering, Elowen dropped her bag, crossed the room and kissed Damon sloppily. Their teeth clashed together from when she grabbed the front of his shirt and hastily pulled him into her. Damon hadn't quite caught up when Elowen started to pull his shirt up and over his head. She tossed it somewhere in the room and started on his belt, then unbuttoned his jeans and had just unzipped the zipper when Damon finally registered what was happening.

"Wen," he tried to mumble through kisses, but she ignored him and walked him backwards to push him roughly against the wall in an attempt to shut him up.

"Wen," he said again, this time grabbing onto her wrists to stop her roaming hands and pushing her away. She immediately leaned forward to kiss him again, but Damon held onto her arms to stop her. "Hey. What's going on? Is something wrong?"

"I'm having a really bad day, Damon," she replied breathlessly. "And I'm in desperate need of a distraction. Please distract me and ask questions later. Please."

Damon searched her eyes for a moment before sighing. "Okay."

Elowen grabbed onto his neck and dragged him down to continue kissing him. This time, Damon was much more reciprocal. His hands slid down her waist and slipped under her shirt in order to remove it. The scarf came off with it and revealed the bite marks on her neck. Damon stopped at the sight, carefully touched the marks and tried to pull back to ask her about it.

"Questions later, remember?" Elowen reminded before he could get a word out. She tugged him towards the couch by the belt loops in his jeans while removing her bra with her free hand, threw it away and fell back onto the couch, pulling Damon with her.

**xxxx**

Afterwards, both of them laid on the couch in silence. Elowen was settled in Damon's arms, wearing his shirt, while he wore his boxers, with Damon trailing his fingers down her arms.

"Do you want to tell me what's got you so tied up in knots now?" He asked lowly against her ear. Elowen stayed quiet for a moment before finally opening her mouth.

"Luis is out of the tomb. I don't know how he did it, but he did. He attacked me last night."

She couldn't find it in herself to tell him about Klaus in Alaric's body. She knew probably everybody would kill her when they found out that she knew, but she just couldn't do it. She couldn't betray him.

"He's _what_? You're kidding me, right?"

"I wish I was."

"Well, aren't you and Bonnie locked and loaded? Couldn't you have just killed him?"

"I was taken off guard, Damon. He disappeared somewhere after Ric took care of him."

"Ric? Ric was there?"

"I was at his apartment when it happened."

"And you have no idea where he ran off to?"

"No."

Damon threw his head back in frustration momentarily. His fingers were playing in Elowen's mess of curly hair now and he was suddenly struck with how much he had missed her.

"Does Stefan know?"

Elowen shook her head. "He tried to ask me at school this morning, but I just couldn't deal with it. I completely blew him off."

"You had every right to, you know. What we did to you was shitty. We should've been helping you with the whole Marisol thing, but instead we cast you aside. I'm sorry. We both are."

Elowen turned her head and gave him a pointed look. Damon grumbled.

"Okay, fine. For awhile I wasn't sorry for what we did, but then I realized you genuinely just wanted answers to an innocent question that you had every right to ask. I'm not saying I condone your methods to finding said answers, but I'd be one to talk, right? I spent 145 years obsessing over Katherine and opening that damn tomb that I did some really bad things to do it. I guess I'm saying that now that I've had time to think about it, I understand. So, yes, I'm sorry."

Elowen was quiet for a moment before she opened her mouth.

"I guess I'm sorry, too. I was mad, and I thought I had to take things into my own hands, but disregarding Elena the way I did and offering her up as bait without a second thought was really inconsiderate of me. Her life is just as important as mine, but Klaus needed to be lured out somehow, and I didn't know what else to do." She sighed. "Just... next time, please just listen to me, okay? Don't try to force your own agenda onto me and expect me to blindly follow you and Stefan because we're together. I'm my own person, and I can make my own decisions."

"And I know that. Sometimes I forget how stubbornly independent you can be. It's almost like you _don't_ need a knight in shining armor."

Elowen shot Damon a cheeky smile. "Because I don't."

She leaned up to give Damon a quick kiss, and then she tried to move to get up, but Damon tightened his grip on her waist.

"Oh no you don't. You're staying right here."

Elowen giggled loudly and pretended to fight against him. "Damon! We can't stay here forever."

"Says who?" He asked her seductively. "I haven't even bitten you yet."

Elowen had to admit that that had turned her on. She wouldn't ever say it out loud, but Damon's biting kink was kind of hot. He started to kiss up and down her neck, leaving a trail of goosebumps as he went, and Elowen felt him pause and move her hair out of the way as he probably geared up to sink his fangs into her. Right before he could, however, his phone started to blare loudly from wherever it was on the ground. He groaned loudly and rolled over to find it. When he did, he answered it.

"This better be good, Stef, because you're interrupting something kind of important."

"Klaus compelled a student at school today," Stefan told him, and Damon suddenly grew serious. His face made Elowen look at him curiously.

'What is it?' She mouthed, but Damon shook his head at her.

"What? He was there? At the school?"

"Yeah."

"Well, did anyone see him?"

"No. He said he would be at the dance tonight."

"Okay. Get Elena back here and we'll talk it over."

"Got it."

He hung up and started to move Elowen off of him so he could get dressed. "Moment ruined, little witch. Get dressed."

**xxxx**

To say Stefan was surprised to see Elowen at the boarding house when he arrived was an understatement. He couldn't even ask why she was there because he had Elena in tow. Even she seemed surprised to see her.

"What are you-" She started to ask, but Elowen cut her off.

"Damon told me Klaus was at the school," she half lied. "It seemed important, so here I am."

Stefan didn't look convinced. He knew just how angry she'd been and doubted she would've picked up Damon's calls in the first place. Elena, on the other hand, bought her answer and shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh, okay. I'm just glad you're talking again."

"I called Bonnie," Elowen changed the subject. "She should be here soon."

Of course, Bonnie chose that exact moment to come through the front door. Damon immediately got down to business.

"I say we go to the dance and we find him," he said with determination. He was already dead set on killing Klaus if it meant protecting Elowen, but now that they were back together (sort of), he had never been more sure of anything in his life.

"Really?" Stefan asked, mainly rhetorical. "How are we going to do that? We don't even know what he looks like."

"Something tells me he's not going to be sixteen and pimply."

"He could be anywhere at any time. He compelled somebody at school." He glanced at Elena. "I guess it's not as safe as you thought, huh?"

There was a knock at the front door and in came Alaric/Klaus. Elowen tensed at the sight of him and his eyes lingered on her longer than they should have. He was looking at her so tauntingly, as if egging her on.

'Go ahead,' they said. 'Do it. Tell them who I really am.'

But she didn't, and he knew she wasn't going to.

"Sorry I'm late," Klaus apologized.

"Hey, I need you to put me down as a chaperone at the dance tonight," Damon told him. "Klaus made his first move."

"Okay, so we find him and then, hmm?" Elena questioned condescendingly. "What's our plan of attack?"

"Me," Bonnie answered immediately. "And Elowen. We're the plan. He has no idea how much power we can channel. If you can find him, we can kill him."

Except, as long as he was in Alaric's body, Elowen wasn't going to lay not even a finger on him. Klaus must've known this, because he side eyed her with a small smirk. Elowen balled her hands into fists at her side and did her best to ignore him.

"It's not going to be that easy," Klaus tried to point out. "I mean, he is the biggest, baddest vampire around."

"Alaric has a point," Damon agreed. "I mean, what if he…" He suddenly sped over towards Bonnie, who quickly lifted her hand and threw him across the room without touching him. Damon groaned from his spot on the ground and pushed himself back onto his feet.

"Well, I was impressed," Stefan said with a shrug.

"It doesn't matter if he's an Original," Bonnie stated confidently. "I can take down anyone who comes at me. I can kill him. I know I can, and with Elowen's help, he doesn't stand a chance."

Elowen had gone over to Damon to make sure he was okay, but when she touched his arm, he winced and drew it back.

"Ow!"

Elowen furrowed her eyebrows. "What? What did I do?"

He looked down at his arm and saw a bit of frostbite where she touched him. He looked up at everyone in the room, confused.

"I don't know."

Elowen looked down at her hands and saw that her fingertips were ice blue. Curiously, she reached down and touched the corner of the coffee table that was next to her. A thin sheet of ice spread across the top faster than they could keep up, and before they knew it, the whole table was enveloped. Shortly after, her fingertips returned to normal.

"What the hell was that?" Damon asked, finally breaking the stunned silence the room had been put into.

"It's normal for elementals to sometimes come into a second power, isn't it?" Stefan's question was aimed at Elowen, who nodded dumbly, still staring at the coffee table.

"Well, I mean, yeah, but for it to come on right after I cast a spell to channel a hundred dead witches? That doesn't seem like a coincidence." She turned to Damon. "Come at me, the same way you did Bonnie."

Damon scoffed. "Yeah, like that's gonna happen. I think I've been tossed across the room enough times today."

Without missing a beat, she turned to Stefan. He didn't look exactly happy and willing, but still, he sighed and sped at her without a word. He didn't even come within a few feet of her before some type of force field erected itself around her, blowing Stefan nearly through the wall, as well as knocking Elena, Bonnie and Alaric/Klaus off of their feet from the residual energy. Various items such as books, lone papers and other objects sailed from their spots and now littered the ground. Damon was the only one untouched as he was standing on the other side of Elowen, behind the invisible force field.

There was a large hole in the wall where Stefan had made contact and he now laid on the ground, the wind knocked completely out of him. It took him a minute to even try standing up again. Bonnie was helping Elena up while Klaus sat on the floor for a moment, completely blindsided. This was worse than he initially thought.

"No offense, Bonnie," Damon started to say, once again breaking the silence. "But, your parlor trick looked like nothing compared to whatever the hell that was."

"I think…" Elowen started to mumble, mainly to herself more than anything else. "I think, maybe, it's a possibility that there were elementals that died in that fire, and since I'm another elemental channeling them, I'm being given their powers. Ice manipulation, force fields… who knows what else I was given."

Damon whistled. "Klaus has no idea what's coming to him."

Elowen's eyes found Klaus's, who had just gotten back up to his feet.

_Oh, how wrong you are about that, Damon_, she thought.

**xxxx**

After everybody was gone, Stefan turned to Elowen.

"Okay, what are you _really_ doing here? I know Damon didn't call you. Does this have something to do with the fact that you ditched school this morning?"

Elowen sighed. Her hands came up to grab the scarf around her neck and she tugged it down to show him the bite marks. Stefan's face immediately became both serious and worried as he quickly stepped forward to examine them.

"Luis is out of the tomb," she explained. "He attacked me. I just… I didn't want to think about it. I needed a distraction."

"And I take it Damon was the distraction?" Stefan's words came out tight and a bit snippy.

"No need to sound so jealous, brother," Damon drawled arrogantly with a smirk. It was true, Stefan did sound slightly envious, or at least a little bothered that she'd come to Damon instead of him after completely brushing him off when he tried to ask earlier that morning. "It's not my fault you two haven't done the do yet."

Stefan loudly cleared his throat. "No, we have."

"Oh?" Damon quirked an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"Okay!" Elowen quickly cut in before things got weird. "I get that I'm dating you both, but I think I'd rather keep our sex lives seperate."

"Oh, _come on_, Wen. You've got to admit the idea of a threesome is _hot_," Damon said. "Don't act like you haven't thought about it."

Elowen chewed on her bottom lip and didn't answer. She'd be lying if she said the idea hadn't crossed her mind. Damon took her silence as confirmation.

"See? I knew I wasn't the only one. Stef?"

There was already a deep red flush crawling up Stefan's neck. "Don't- Don't ask me about that. It's weird."

Damon smirked again. "Aww, is wittle Stefan embarrassed?"

"This isn't what the topic was," Stefan dodged. He quickly put his attention back on Elowen and steered the conversation away from sex talk. "Are you okay now? Were you hurt anywhere else?"

Elowen shook her head. "No, he just bit me. I'm fine."

Stefan sighed and placed his hand on Elowen's cheek. "Listen, about Elijah-"

"Damon's already given the apology speech." Stefan's eyes darted towards Damon, who simply smirked. "We were both in the wrong, to some extent, and we were both just doing what we thought was right. I just… didn't appreciate how you guys made me feel like my wanting answers about Marisol was stupid. It was like you guys didn't care."

Stefan was rubbing his thumb across her cheek as she spoke and used his other hand to run his fingers through her bangs (they were the only part of her hair that wasn't as curly as the rest and therefore he could do this without his hands getting tangled). "You're right. I'm sorry. We thought Elijah was the bigger threat at the time that I wasn't thinking about how important this was to you. Have you found out anything useful?"

Elowen shook her head disappointedly. "No. Nothing in those grimoires Luka and Jonas had say anything about doppelgangers' past lives living through their current shadow self. It happened again, I think, this morning. I'm not sure because I was alone," she lied. She still couldn't bring herself to tell them about Klaus, but the way Katherine asked if it was 'really her' this morning had gotten her thinking that she had another episode. "But, there's a short gap in my memory where I don't remember what happened."

"Maybe you're not looking in the right place," Damon spoke up. Both Elowen and Stefan looked over at him. "I know I'm the one who said that the spell must've accidentally created a doppelganger, but maybe that's not the case."

"What do you propose, then?" Elowen asked.

"Reincarnation," Damon answered. "Think about it. What if you're Marisol reborn? What if you _are_ her?"

Elowen blinked and thought this over for a moment. "... It's not a bad idea. I mean, it would explain the premonitions I've been having."

"What premonitions?" Stefan questioned. Elowen looked down at the ground for a second before she answered.

"Premonitions of Marisol's memories. Just bits and pieces. It would also explain why I felt like I knew Elijah when I first met him and why I felt the need to side with and protect him. He was like Marisol's father figure, so to speak. It would also explain why none of this started to happen until Elijah came to town. He must've triggered it, whatever 'it' is."

"Klaus had to have been there. She was created to break the curse, after all," Damon said. "Have you seen him? Do you know what he looks like?"

Elowen shook her head. "No. I've only seen Elijah, a man named Nik and somebody else named Kol."

"Kol," Stefan repeated. "Marisol talked about him when she possessed you at the lake house. She said he tried to help."

Elowen nodded. "Yeah. He tried to get her to run away with him the morning the ritual was supposed to take place. I think he was in love with her."

"Well, whoever he was-"

"I think he was another Original," Elowen cut off Damon. "Nik used a dagger like the one you used on Elijah in order to kill him."

Damon groaned. "Oh, great, just what we need. More Originals."

"Marisol also said the curse wasn't about the sun and the moon," Stefan remembered. "Do you know anything about that?"

Elowen shook her head. "No. But, I can fish around and see if I can find anything."

"In the meantime, I think we should focus on the present. We have a dance to crash."

"Right. Do you have anything I can wear?"

"'Course we do," Damon told her with an eye roll. "This way, little witch."

**xxxx**

Back at Alaric's apartment, Katherine was still in her chair, now with blood covering her leg. The knife Klaus had given her was still in her hand. The front door opened and in walked Klaus.

"This is bad," he said as he closed the door behind him."Not only is that Elowen girl all juiced up and aiming to kill, she has a friend as backup. The Bennett witch."

"That's terrible," Katherine forced herself to say.

Klaus's warlock friend was sitting in the kitchen. Klaus addressed him.

"We're gonna have to kill one of them, Maddox. The best friend."

Katherine tilted her head in curiosity. "You want Elowen alive," she stated. "Is this because she had that weird fit this morning? Who's Marisol, Klaus?"

"None of your concern," Klaus said offhandedly. He was looking through Alaric's closet and moved over to the drawer. "Do you think this Alaric guy has anything vintage?" He moved the shirts in the drawer around and noticed the bottom of the drawer popped out. He opened it and it revealed a small array of weapons to kill vampires. "Crossbows, wooden bullets and automatics? Who is this guy again?" He'd picked up a crossbow and was examining it.

"He's the local vampire hunter," Katherine replied.

"Ahh. Well, that explains the clothing." Klaus put the crossbow back and closed the drawer, Maddox walked over and handed him a glass of bourbon.

"All I could find. Guy likes his bourbon."

Klaus took it. "I knew there was something about him I liked. There's a high school dance and I'm gonna need you to take out the witch bitch."

"If she has that much power, she can sense me coming from a mile away, especially if the other one has the power of premonition. Her power will be enhanced now that she's channeling so many witches. I won't be able to get near her. You have to do it."

"In this body? I'm a haggard history teacher. She can easily hurt me. I mean, not me, Klaus me, but you know what I mean."

Katherine stayed silent and simply listened to them. If she could ever get out of here, this would be useful information.

"No witch could handle channeling that much power. It'll kill her. It would kill the other one, too. It would even kill me. You just have to make her use it."

"You mean like provoke her to death?"

Maddox shrugged. "Won't take long. Just keep attacking her until it kills her. His body, Alaric's, will last longer than hers will."

"How? He's human."

"I can help in that department. I can do a spell to protect you."

Klaus liked the sound of this plan. Now, he just needed to think of a way to get Elowen on his side. It shouldn't be hard, considering it seemed like Marisol lived inside her and she'd yet to expose him, as if she didn't want to. Piece of cake.


	35. Chapter 35

"God, your relatives were such packrats," Elowen said as she searched through various boxes that Damon had pulled out. She was settled on Stefan's bed with two boxes seated in front of her while Stefan and Damon watched her. Finally, she found two outfits she liked and pulled them out to show the two of them. "Okay, so what do you think? Twiggy or sexy hippy?"

"Ooh." Damon pretended to think it over. "I say sexy hippy. Stef?"

"Agreed. Sexy hippy all the way."

Elowen laughed with a smile and tossed the second outfit back in the box. She stood up, stretched and then started to take her shirt off. Damon wolf whistled and she threw her shirt at him in annoyance. He caught it with a smirk.

"Do you ever shut up?" Elowen questioned as she started to pull the mini dress over her head.

"Nope."

She wiggled out of her jeans and kicked them aside. The dress was a light, pale yellow with big white and pastel orange flowers covering it. The sleeves flared out halfway down and just about swallowed Elowen's hands. She stood barefoot and walked over to the mirror in Stefan's room to look over her hair.

"I'm going to look like a disaster. I have no shoes to match this and I don't have Caroline helping with my hair. She's supposed to be going as Jackie O. and my brother's supposed to be JFK." She looked at Stefan and Damon through the mirror. "Help?"

Damon walked over, placed his hands on her hips from behind and kissed her cheek. "Even as a disaster, you look beautiful."

"You're not helping."

Stefan chuckled from behind them. "I think I saw a pair of white boots in here somewhere."

There was the sound of him rummaging through the boxes and he must've found what he was looking for, because Damon and Elowen heard him go, "Aha!". They turned around just as he held up a pair of white knee high boots.

"See if these fit," he said as he handed them to her. Elowen took them in her hands and turned her head back to look at Damon over her shoulder.

"See? At least _someone_ is helping."

Stefan beamed at the praise while Damon grumbled.

"Yeah, whatever."

Elowen sat back down on Stefan's bed to put them on. They had heels, which wasn't a problem, and she stood back up when she had them on. She took a few test steps around the room and hummed in approval.

"They're a little big, but they'll have to do. Thank you." She walked over and gave Stefan a long kiss. His hands were firmly on her waist and her arms were slung over his shoulder. They only broke apart because Damon loudly cleared his throat.

"Okay, kids, that's enough."

"What, are you jealous?" Elowen teased. Damon stayed silent, not willing to admit it, and Elowen laughed again. She walked over and pecked his lips. "There, you got one, too."

She turned to walk away, but Damon grabbed her wrist, spun her back around and pulled her towards him. Elowen yelped in surprise and was cut off by him planting his lips back on hers. She pulled back with a grin. Slowly, the grin left her face. An image of Klaus in Alaric's body flashed in her mind, and she knew it was finally time to tell them.

"What?" Stefan asked when she turned around and saw her expression. "Is something wrong?"

"There's something I have to tell you guys," she said slowly.

Stefan and Damon looked at her expectantly. She opened her mouth to speak when Elena entered the room.

"There you guys are- Oh, am I interrupting something?"

Stefan and Damon each looked at Elowen, as if waiting for her to finish, but she found herself shaking her head before she could stop herself.

"You know what? Nevermind. It can wait. We should go."

Elowen quickly walked past the three of them and out of the room. Stefan and Damon both furrowed their eyebrows and glanced at each other. They'd have to get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, they had a dance to get to.

**xxxx**

Elowen had found a matching yellow bandana to wrap around her head just before they'd left the boarding house and was currently tying it together as Elena went to meet up with Bonnie and Jeremy. Damon had gone on ahead and, while he didn't exactly mean to, he overheard what Bonnie and Jeremy were talking about.

"Well, I have to do something," Jeremy was saying. "I can't just… I can't just let you get yourself killed. It's not fair to you and it's not fair to Elowen that you're risking your lives just to save everybody else."

Damon just about stopped in his spot. What?

"Just because a bunch of dead witches gave us a warning doesn't mean either of us are going to die," Bonnie replied.

"So, you're saying there's a 50-50 shot you two won't? Look, I'm sorry, but… you know I don't have the best luck in the girlfriend department, and Josiah's my best friend. Losing Elowen would kill him."

"Hey, listen, I… I can't explain it, but I can feel them. I'm empowered, Jeremy, and so is Elowen. I can do this. So can she. I know we can. We're strong enough."

Bonnie closed the gap between her and Jeremy and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. She saw Damon over Jeremy's shoulder and pulled back.

"Damon."

"Evenin'," Damon responded as calmly as he possibly could. He was still trying to process what Bonnie and Jeremy were implying. Channeling those witches could kill Elowen? Is that what she was going to tell them earlier? And why hadn't she told him before?

Elena walked up and Damon continued on his way into the dance. He'd have to ask Elowen, or maybe even Bonnie, if it really was true or not.

Inside, everyone was dancing and having a good time. Elowen walked in with Stefan just as Elena, Bonnie and Jeremy did. Damon was already somewhere in the crowd and they all made their way towards the stage when Dana jumped up and took the microphone.

"Thanks for being here, everybody! We have a special shoutout tonight. This is for Elena, from Klaus."

Elena looked the most stunned between them all.

"That was a lame, cheap shot," Damon yelled over the music. "He's just trying to bait us."

"I know everyone here," Elena said, glancing around her shoulders at the people dancing.

"Maybe he's not here," Stefan suggested. "Just wants us to believe he is."

"It's a party, people. Blend," Damon told them. "Let him come to us."

"Good idea." Bonnie took hold of Jeremy's arm and started dragging him towards the dance floor as he protested behind her.

"No, no, I really don't feel like dancing."

"Too bad."

Damon spotted Alaric/Klaus across the room and pointed him out to Stefan, Elowen and Elena.

"There's Ric. I'll be back."

Damon walked off and Elowen saw Caroline and Josiah enter. She gestured towards them.

"They don't know what's going on. I'm gonna go tell them."

Stefan and Elena nodded, but before she left, Elowen grabbed each of their arms and placed them around each other.

"Blend in, remember? It'll look suspicious if you two are just standing around. Dance."

They did as they were told, albeit a little awkwardly, as Elowen walked off towards Caroline and Josiah. They were already dancing together and Elowen joined in when she reached them.

"Hey!" Caroline greeted with a smile. "You look great!"

"No, I don't," Elowen replied. "My hair's a mess."

Caroline glanced at her hair and shrugged. "I'll admit, I've seen better, but you look fine. What's up?"

"Klaus is here."

"What?!"

"You're serious?"

Were Caroline and Josiah's respective reactions. Elowen nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah."

"Where?" Josiah asked, looking around people's heads. Elowen shook her head and prepared to lie again.

"We have no idea. But, keep your eye out for anything that might be weird, okay?"

Both of them nodded and Elowen danced away. She was pushing her way back towards Elena and Stefan when somebody stepped in front of her and she crashed into them. She looked up to apologize and saw it was just Toby.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" Elowen asked in surprise. "Dances aren't usually your thing. I had to practically tie you to the top of the car in middle school that one time."

Toby laughed. "Esmeralda sent me here in her place. Said she wanted to keep looking for something that might help Elena. She also got your text about looking into reincarnation and she wanted to see what she could find."

They were lightly dancing together and Elowen looked over and saw Alaric/Klaus standing a few feet away talking to Damon. A look must've come across her face, because Toby furrowed his eyebrows and followed her line of sight.

"What's wrong?" He questioned. Elowen bit her bottom lip and suddenly grabbed onto Toby's arm to pull him out of the crowd. "Elowen? Where are we going? What's going on?"

She didn't stop until they were safely in the empty hallways. She was sure that Stefan and Damon wouldn't hear her all the way out here through the loud music inside the cafeteria and she was burning to tell somebody the truth.

"Klaus is in Alaric's body," she blurted. Toby's eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened.

"He's what? Does everybody else know?"

Elowen shook her head and looked down at the ground. "No," she responded quietly. "I couldn't find it in me to tell them. I don't know why, but I think it has something to do with Marisol. Please don't tell anybody."

"You're kidding me, right? The guy that's been gunning after both you and Elena is here and you don't want me to tell anybody? Is this a joke?"

Elowen looked up from the ground and shot him a pleading look. "Please, Toby. I don't- They shouldn't-" She took a deep breath. "They should hear it from me. If they find out I told you and nobody else, they'll get mad."

"'They' being Stefan and Damon, right? I thought you were still on the outs?"

"We made up this afternoon. Look, Toby, you know I don't typically ask you to do things like this, but I need time. They're already gonna be upset that I kept this to myself. I need to find a way to soften the blow. Please."

Toby looked at her for a long moment before sighing loudly. "Fine. You're my best friend and that means that sometimes I have to keep secrets I don't want to keep. I've got your back. Don't worry."

Elowen hugged him tightly. "Thank you. Now, let's get back to the dance, shall we?"

Back inside, Damon had just asked to dance with Bonnie and Jeremy had walked away.

"You heard Jeremy and me talking, didn't you?" She asked as she danced with Damon.

"Is it true?" He asked.

"Yes."

"About Elowen, too?"

"Yes."

Damon did his best to not clench his hands around Bonnie's. Instead, he clenched his jaw. "The part about you having a 50-50 shot at surviving? Is that true?"

Bonnie shrugged. "He was upset. I didn't want him to worry."

"And Elowen? What about her?"

Bonnie actually felt bad for him. She knew how much he loved Elowen and knew that he would do whatever it took to protect her. It's why he daggered Elijah even though that was the last thing Elowen wanted to happen. She slowly shook her head.

"I'm sorry. Just like you want to keep her safe, she wants to keep you safe. Klaus is a threat to her family, and that includes you. She's laying everything on the line for you, just like I'm doing for Elena. At least try to understand."

Elena came storming up to them and seized Bonnie's arm. "I need to talk to you."

Shortly after they left, Stefan appeared. "Hey," he said breathlessly. "We have a problem."

"Elowen's on a suicide mission," Damon told Stefan immediately.

Stefan blinked. "You mean you know?"

"Bonnie just told me. I think it's time we found our girlfriend."

They found her dancing with Toby. They weren't sure when he showed up, but they didn't care. They each grabbed one of her arms and started pulling her away from the crowd. Toby immediately followed them out into the hallways.

"Guys, lemme go!" Elowen was struggling against their grip. "What the hell is your problem?"

Toby had to wrap his arms around Elowen and use his own strength to pry her away from them. They both stumbled slightly and Toby found himself stepping in front of Elowen to shield her from Stefan and Damon. They both looked upset.

"When were you going to tell us channeling the witches could kill you?" Damon all but demanded. "Hmm?"

Toby didn't let up on his stance, but he opened his mouth to defend Elowen.

"Leave her alone."

Damon's eyes trained onto Toby. "You knew, didn't you?" He focused back on Elowen. "You tell your pet mutt everything, after all. Since when is your long lost ex boyfriend more important than us?"

Toby scowled. "I'm getting really tired of you talking about me like I'm not standing right in front of you."

"Oh, wah, wah, wah. Leave. This conversation doesn't include you."

Toby stubbornly shook his head. "No. No, I'm not leaving her to be torn apart by you two."

"I'm sorry, did I fucking stutter?"

Damon and Toby were sending each other deadly glares and both Stefan and Elowen were worried they would kill each other if they didn't do something. Stefan quickly placed a hand on Damon's chest.

"Stand down, Damon. That's not what we came here to talk about." He glanced at Elowen over Toby's shoulder. "How could you not tell us?"

"Because I knew how you'd react," Elowen explained from behind Toby. Truthfully, she was thankful that he didn't leave her. She didn't know if she could face these two by herself. "I knew you'd try to stop me."

"Of course we'd try to stop you. You're being incredibly _stupid_ right now," Damon snapped. "I'm not letting you do this."

"It's too late. I've already done the spell. There's no way to stop me at this point."

"Sure there is. I can just lock you in the basement with Elijah until this blows over."

"With all this extra power, I doubt you'd be able to keep me locked up for long."

Damon set his jaw. Stefan decided to step in. "Look, we'll find another way, alright? There's no need to go through with this. We'll- We'll find another dagger, or something, okay?"

Elowen shook her head. "This is our only option, Stefan. Klaus is already here. What makes you think we can regroup that quickly? I can do this. With Bonnie's help, maybe combining our powers will stop us from using too much power."

"There's a very heavy emphasis on 'maybe' there," Damon pointed out.

"Just let her try first, okay?" Toby spoke up. Damon once again shifted his glare onto him.

"You, shut up."

"I'm sorry, do you see any other way for this to go? You used our only weapon on Elijah. There's no saying she'll die. I believe in her. You should, too."

"Oh, wake up and smell the flowers, mutt. You're only siding with her right now because you're in love with her and so far up her ass that you can't see what's right in front of you."

If it were possible, Toby's glare got deeper. Elowen furrowed her eyebrows and stared at the back of Toby's head. He felt her eyes boring into him, but refused to look back at her.

"For the last time, I'm not in love with her."

"Yeah, sure. Keep telling yourself that, kid."

Before anything else could be said, there was the sound of someone fighting around the corner and they all went to check. They found Jeremy on the ground with three students kicking him to keep him down.

"Hey, idiots!" Damon called as he ran over. One of the boys pulled out a crossbow and shot a stake at Damon. It hit him in the shoulder. The other two boys also started to pull out weapons as Damon ripped the stake out of his shoulder. "Let me guess, Klaus says hi?"

Toby had ran over and punched one of the guys in the face, knocking him unconscious. Nearby, Stefan did the same. Damon grabbed the last boy and held a stake up as if to kill him. Elowen rushed over and grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Stop! He's been compelled."

"So?" Damon asked offhandedly.

"This whole thing was a distraction. Somebody go find Elena and Bonnie."

"I got it," Toby said as he turned to leave.

"Oh no you don't." Damon went after him. "I'm coming with you."

"Somebody needs to get Caroline and Josiah," Elowen said as they left. Stefan stood and nodded his head.

"I got it."

He left and Elowen turned to help Jeremy up to his feet.

"You okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

It didn't take Damon and Toby long to find Elena and Bonnie. They just about crashed into them in a different set of halls as they were running away from Klaus.

"What happened?" Damon asked immediately.

"Klaus is in Alaric's body," Elena told them breathlessly.

"What?"

"He's possessing it or something," Bonnie explained. "Damon, Elowen knew. She knew this whole time."

Damon's face went stoic and he glanced at Toby. "You know anything about this?"

It took Toby a moment to answer. He wasn't sure he wanted Damon to know that he knew. Finally, he sighed and gave in. "I told her I wouldn't say anything. She wanted to tell you herself."

"Damn it, Wen!" Damon swore under his breath. He looked at Elena. "Go find Stefan. Now."

Elena nodded and ran off. Toby quickly followed her. They found Stefan talking to Caroline and Josiah. They looked equally worried. When they reached them, they were already all heading out of the dance.

"Where's Bonnie?" Stefan asked as him, Caroline and Josiah ushered Elena and Toby back into the halls.

"With Damon," Elena replied. "Stefan, Klaus is in Alaric's body and Elowen knew about it."

"What?" Stefan shook his head. "We'll worry about that later. Let's go."

Elowen had told Jeremy to find the others and was already running through the halls to find Damon, Toby, Elena and Bonnie. Jeremy had caught up with everyone else and now they were all rushing through the halls on a mission. Elowen found Damon first.

"Why didn't you tell me Klaus was in Alaric's body?" He asked in an accusatory tone. "How many other lies are you hiding?"

"Not now, Damon," Elowen replied. "Where's Bonnie?"

"Doing what she has to."

Apparently, the gang had split up to try and find Damon, Elowen and Bonnie and Stefan and Elena went off together, because they came running up behind Elowen, who tried to step around Damon. He stepped aside with her to block her way.

"Don't make me hurt you," he threatened. Elowen narrowed her eyes and suddenly, Damon flew across the halls and slid several feet away.

"Don't make _me_ hurt _you_," she corrected before taking off. Stefan and Elena both crouched down to help Damon up.

Elowen rounded the corner and saw the room Bonnie and Klaus were in. Bonnie used her powers to close the door to stop Elowen from coming in, who banged on the doors. Stefan and Elena were just behind her and were almost caught up when a bright golden light engulfed Elowen and she was magically transported into the room. Stefan and Elena stopped momentarily in surprise before continuing on.

Elowen was only taken off guard for a second before remembering where she was and dashing over in front of Klaus. She threw her hands out to shield him and the same force field from before appeared in front of them. Klaus was crawling on the floor because Bonnie had broken one of his legs and was able to pop it back into place now that Elowen was protecting him.

"Why are you helping him?!" Bonnie yelled over the sound of the lights above them shattering and sending sparks flying down towards them.

"It's Alaric, Bonnie!" Elowen shouted back. "I can't let you kill him."

Blood was starting to gush from Elowen's nose and, ignoring it, she thrust her hands out, throwing the energy from the force field in Bonnie's direction and sending her off of her feet. Elena and Stefan were trying their hardest to open the double doors with no luck. Bonnie got up and used her powers to knock Elowen off of her feet now that the force field was gone. She fell over and blindly waved her arm, telekinetically throwing one of the tables in the room at Bonnie. It missed by only a few inches.

Blood was dripping down Elowen's neck now, but she wasn't paying any attention to it as she pulled herself back onto her feet. More lights broke and sent more sparks throughout the room. There was a short moment where Elowen and Bonnie stared at each other. Then, with an abrupt jerk, Bonnie bent backwards and fell to the ground. The double doors burst open and Stefan and Elena came running into the room. Elowen didn't have time to grieve for Bonnie, because Klaus grabbed onto her and fled from the school.

**xxxx**

The front door to Alaric's apartment opened and Klaus came through with Elowen's arm around his shoulders. She was completely slumped against his body and could barely stay standing. With whatever energy she had left, she pushed herself away from Klaus and over to the kitchen sink to throw up. Instead of vomit, it was blood that coated the sink. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, smearing blood over her face and her knees buckled, sending her onto the floor. Klaus didn't pay her any mind as he kicked the door shut.

"Get her some water or something, Maddox."

Maddox did as he was told and put the cup up to her lips and made her drink when it became apparent that she was too weak to lift it herself. There was dried blood around her nose from when it had been bleeding earlier and she looked worse for wear. Katherine peered at her from her seat and she actually felt pity for Elowen.

Another wave of nausea hit Elowen and this time she wasn't fast enough to make it to the sink, so she threw up blood all over the floor. Klaus made a face as he looked over.

"Clean that up, will you?"

Maddox quickly got to his feet and started working on cleaning the floor up as Elowen groaned and reached up the kitchen counter to pull her wobbly legs back onto her feet.

"Why- Why am I here?" She asked Klaus weakly. "You can't keep me here."

Klaus gestured to the front door. "By all means, leave."

Elowen grabbed onto the wall for support and dragged herself over to the front door. She'd just gotten it open when she toppled over. Klaus came over, helped her back onto her feet and closed the door again.

"You're too weak to do anything, witch. Stop trying."

"What do you want with me?" She questioned, her throat scratchy and hoarse. "Is it because of Marisol?"

Klaus didn't answer as he brought her over to Alaric's bed.

"We need to get you out of these clothes before you get blood everywhere."

"My mom stays the night sometimes." Elowen coughed into her hand and when she drew it back, there were sprays of blood on her palm. "Look in the closet."

Klaus wandered over to the closet and sure enough, at the back of the closet were women's clothes. He pulled out a shirt and jeans at random and tossed them at Elowen.

"If you can make it to the bathroom, get changed."

She did make it to the bathroom, barely, and managed to get out of her dress. She tightly gripped onto the sink after changing and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like utter shit. She wasn't exactly sure when it happened, but all she remembered doing was wishing she wasn't there. She wasn't even aware she'd done it until the bathroom door opened and Klaus appeared in the doorway.

"Love, please don't tell me you've died- _Where did she go?_" Klaus wildly looked around the bathroom and kicked at her discarded dress on the ground. "Where is she?!"

Elowen looked down at her hands and realized she'd gone invisible. She was stunned for only a moment before she came to, quietly sneaking around Klaus, who had gone ballistic, and stumbled towards the front door. Her hands fell against the wood and then _through_ the door, until she was completely on the other side. She could walk through walls now? Not having time to dwell on it, Elowen made her way out of Alaric's apartment complex.

**xxxx**

Elowen wasn't sure how, but she'd made it all the way to the boarding house. Continuing to use her powers was probably the worst thing she could do at the moment, but A) she had no idea how to make herself visible again and B) how else would she sneak in undetected?

Pressing her hands against the front door, she waited to walk through like last time, but nothing happened. Yet another wave of nausea hit her and she held her stomach as she bent over and threw up on the doorstep. Blood splattered everywhere, but she kept pushing through the pain.

She remembered the golden light that had surrounded her at the school and how it had teleported her and she decided to concentrate on that instead. It took a few moments, but finally, it worked. Elowen found herself inside the house and she used the walls as support so she could make it down to the basement. She found the room Elijah was in (it looked like Stefan and Damon never relocked it after Jonas magically unlocked it) and dropped to her knees to pull the dagger out. Finally, it seemed like her body was giving out. Elowen swayed and fell forward, landing face first into the ground. The dagger clattered somewhere beside her.

Elena snuck down the stairs to the cellar and stopped short when she saw Elowen unconscious on the floor. She'd become visible again once she'd knocked out and Elena was shocked to see her. She'd disappeared after Klaus left and everyone was sure she'd ran away with him willingly. Damon had been livid.

'_First Elijah, now Klaus?! Is she insane?'_

Elena looked over and saw the dagger a few inches away from Elowen and realized she'd done exactly what Elena had been sneaking down here to do herself. Deciding Elowen probably hadn't teamed up with Klaus like Damon, Jeremy and maybe even Stefan thought (Toby was adamant that she would never do that and Josiah just about started a fight because people thought that in the first place), Elena took a seat next to her and waited for Elijah to wake up.

She'd ask Elowen what the hell she was doing later.


	36. Chapter 36

Elijah woke up before Elowen did. Elena rushed over to him.

"Elijah."

Elijah was still in shock from being undaggered and he was gasping for air. "Katerina."

"Elijah! It's me, it's Elena."

"Oh my god."

Elijah went limp and his eyes closed. Elena moved to get closer, but his body suddenly spasmed and he stumbled to his feet, once again gasping for air.

"I can't- I can't breathe! What's happening to me?"

He rushed over to the door but slammed into the doorsill. Elena got up, went over to him and helped hold him up.

"I can't… I can't be in this house."

"... You're not invited in," Elena realized.

"Then, get me out of here."

Elijah tried to speed out of the room, but ran into a wall instead. He sped away again and Elena quickly ran after him, leaving Elowen in the basement. Elena found him just outside the front door, crouched down as he caught his breath. He saw her coming towards him and got up to rush at her, but was stopped at the threshold as he wasn't invited in.

"What happened?" He demanded, but Elena shushed him. She pointed at her ear and then back into the house to indicate that Stefan and Damon were there.

"I'll tell you," she whispered. "Not here. Can I trust you?"

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Can _I_ trust _you_?"

Slowly, Elena raised her hand and brandished the dagger. She handed it over. Elijah took it from her and only stared at her.

"We have to get Elowen first," Elena told him. "She's the one who undaggered you. It must've been for good reason, but she's unconscious." She chewed on her bottom lip and contemplated her next words. "I invite you in, so you can help me get her. Be quick."

Elijah nodded and zoomed back into the house. He returned with Elowen in his arms a moment later.

"You'll tell me exactly what happened to her once we're able to speak properly."

"I wish I could. I just found her like this."

Elijah looked down at Elowen and slightly sighed. "Very well. Let's take our leave, then."

Upstairs, Stefan woke up with a start. Something didn't seem right to him. He decided to get up and venture downstairs, where Damon was sitting in the living room with a cup of coffee.

"Hey. Is Elena still here?" Stefan asked. Damon shrugged.

"How should I know? I don't really care."

"... And Elowen? Have you heard from her?"

Damon's jaw set at the sound of her name. He was still under the impression she was siding with Klaus and he was very upset about it.

"No. I don't care about that, either."

They both knew that was a lie. Stefan sighed and continued his way through the house. Damon had rolled his eyes and gotten up to follow him.

"Look, I know what you're going to say. 'Of course you care, Damon, you're just-'"

Damon stopped because Stefan had. He'd noticed the basement door was open and rushed over to investigate. Damon was right behind him. They arrived at the cell and saw it was empty.

"Where is he?" Damon asked. "Where is he?!"

"Elowen. It has to be. She didn't even want him daggered in the first place."

"How did she even get in here undetected? I don't buy it. My money's on Elena."

"Whoever it was, we need to find them, and fast."

**xxxx**

Elena pulled over and parked her car on the side of the road. Elijah was in the passenger seat drinking from a blood bag he must've swiped when he went to get Elowen and Elowen was still passed out in the backseat. Elena was actually starting to get worried, and she knew Elijah was, too.

"You look better," she noted.

"Where did you get the dagger?" Elijah asked instead.

"I'll tell you everything, but we have to work together, Elijah. I need your word."

"Your ability to make demands has long passed." He glanced at Elowen through the rear view mirror. "Her, on the other hand…"

Elowen's eyes fluttered open and she woke up to a major, head splitting headache. Her stomach lurched and she quickly sat up and started trying to pry the car door open.

"I'm gonna be sick." She got the door open and stumbled out. "I'm gonna be sick."

Both Elijah and Elena quickly followed her out as she dropped to her knees and threw up more blood onto the sidewalk. Elena's eyes widened.

"Oh my god." Elena remembered seeing a dried red spot on the doorstep at the boarding house and she put two and two together. "The blood on the patio, was that you? Are you okay?"

"Yes and no," Elowen replied, wiping her mouth and then wiping her hand on her jeans. Blood smeared down the pant leg, but she was in too much pain to care. Elijah had carefully bent down on one knee and gently put his hand on her back, rubbing reassuring circles to let her know that it was alright.

"What happened to you?" He asked softly. "Elena said she found you passed out in the basement."

"We found the spot of the witch massacre," Elowen started to explain, leaning against Elijah for support as he tentatively helped her to her feet. Elijah raised an eyebrow in interest.

"Oh?"

"I did the spell to channel them and I just overused my powers last night. It's coming back to bite me in the ass."

"And why did you have to use them in such a manner?"

"Klaus is here, in Alaric's body. Bonnie was- oh my god, Bonnie." Elowen whipped around to face Elena and nearly fell over in the process. "Bonnie? Is she okay? Is she dead?"

Elena opened her mouth to answer, then faltered. Elowen was looking at her expectantly and so helplessly that she wasn't sure what to do. She could just run back to Klaus and tell him everything for all she knew. Elowen seemed to understand.

"... I get it. You can't trust me anymore. Why did you even bring me along? You could've just left me in the basement for Stefan and Damon to discover me and rip me a new one."

Elena meekly shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I guess I just wanted to know what you were doing there."

"I'm a little lost," Elijah interrupted. "Are you two not on the same team anymore? Are your goals not still the same?"

"I don't know." Elena stared at Elowen. "Are they?"

It took Elowen a long moment to answer. It must've been the Marisol in her, because she almost said no. Finally, she responded to Elena's question.

"Yes."

Elena crossed her arms. "Then why did you protect him last night?"

"Bonnie was going to kill Alaric, Elena. I couldn't let her do that. It would've been useless. Klaus would've just jumped into somebody else's body and Ric would've died for nothing." It was half the truth. The other part of her protected him because she felt like she had to. Because she _wanted_ to. Elowen sighed. "Ric's the closest thing I've got to a dad, Elena," she admitted quietly. "I couldn't just let him die."

"And why didn't you tell us he was here? Klaus said you knew."

Elowen looked down at the ground in shame. "It's hard to explain. If I could just find answers about Marisol, maybe I can answer that question."

Elijah quirked his eyebrow again at the mention of Marisol. "And have you?"

Elowen looked up at him in confusion. "Have I what?"

"Found answers."

"Damon thinks it might be reincarnation."

"Reincarnation?" Elijah hummed. "Interesting."

"I have one more question," Elena said. "Where did you go last night?"

"Klaus took me," Elowen replied. "He wants me, just like I thought he would. I escaped."

Elijah looked surprised. "Escaped? You escaped Klaus? How is that possible?"

"Remember how I said I could channel the witches? I think I'm not only channeling their energy, but the elemental's who burned powers. I can turn invisible, I can teleport, manipulate ice, walk through walls, create force fields and I can use telekinesis now. Who knows what else. He's probably searching for me as we speak."

"I just… I want clarification," Elena cut in. "You're not siding with him?"

Elowen furrowed her eyebrows. "Of course not. Did someone say something?"

Elena looked at her pitifully and Elowen almost wasn't sure she wanted the answer.

"Damon thinks you ran off with him and so does Jeremy. I think Stefan has his doubts, too. Toby and Josiah made it clear that you'd never do that, but…" She shrugged. "Even I can't trust you to not go blabbing off to him."

"... Oh."

Elowen felt a hand grab onto hers and looked up to find Elijah looking down at her. Elena looked at the two of them suspiciously when her phone went off. It was Stefan.

"Where are you?" He asked immediately when she answered. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Elena replied. "I'm with Elijah and Elowen."

"Elowen? She's there? How is she? What happened last night?"

"She's… she's not doing too great," Elena told him honestly. Elowen looked worse for wear. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes were bloodshot and she had dried blood on her chin from when she had thrown up a few minutes ago. "She says Klaus kidnapped her last night and that she barely managed to get away."

The line went dead for a moment and Elena was starting to think the call dropped. She was about to hang up when Stefan finally said something.

"Where are you guys? I'm on my way."

"No. Elijah and I need some time alone. Elowen… she needs time to recover. I don't think she's ready to face whatever you have to say to her."

"Listen to me, Elijah cannot be trusted. He'll use you to get to Klaus, and Elowen… we already know she can't resist him. At least get her out of there."

"If anything, I think it's a good thing she's here. Elijah would never hear me out on my own. Look, Elijah is a noble man, Stefan. He lives by a code of honor. I can trust him. Elowen was right all along. He knows that I'd be incredibly stupid to betray him again. By removing the dagger, I have proven myself."

"Need I remind you that you're the one who said it was Elowen who pulled the dagger out?" Elijah piped up. Elena ignored him.

"You can't do this alone," Stefan was saying.

"I'm not. Whether you like it or not, Elowen is here. This is my decision, Stefan. Please respect it." Elena glanced at Elowen. "And make sure that Damon doesn't do anything stupid. I know he's angry right now, and with him that's never good. I'll be in touch."

Elena hung up and Elijah held his hand out. Elena hesitated before finally handing her phone over. He put it in his jacket pocket without a word. When he didn't do the same for Elowen, Elena furrowed her eyebrows.

"Why does she get to keep her phone?"

"Because I can trust her to not run and cry wolf."

Elena slightly scowled. Elowen blinked as if suddenly remembering that phones exist and reached into her back pocket for her phone, where she had put it after changing out of her dress and into her mom's clothes, and pulled it out. She had several missed calls from Esmeralda, Toby, Josiah and even Caroline, as well as numerous text messages asking where she was, if she was safe, to call them. She was surprised nobody had done a locator spell yet.

"Go ahead," Elijah said to her softly. "Let them know you're okay."

With slightly shaky hands (she was still a little weak from before. At least the nausea had gone away), she opened her phone and scrolled through her contacts to find Toby's name. She wrote out a quick text and pressed send.

_I'm alive and mostly unharmed. I'm with Elijah. Don't try to find me, I'll come to you when I'm ready. Sorry for worrying you._

When she was done, she slipped her phone back into her pocket.

"Okay," she said. "Let's go."

**xxxx**

"Did she just hang up on you?" Damon asked incredulously.

"She did," Stefan confirmed.

"She's lost it. The both of them have."

"Look, just be glad Elowen's not with Klaus."

"Just because she's with Elijah doesn't mean she's not still running with Klaus. She could be working both teams. She's good at that."

Stefan frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Do you not remember when she lied to you about knowing why I came to town and leading me to believe that she was going to help me get into the tomb? Because I do."

"Are you sure that's what this is about?"

"What, you think this is about me and you? How she played us both? Because she did, Stefan."

"Look, I know that you don't understand the concept of sharing, Damon, but she didn't 'play' us. She never did."

"Oh, get off your high horse, Stefan. I know you secretly want her to choose, too. We've only settled for what we've got because we know she'd pick neither of us if it came down to it."

"Where is this even coming from? Is this what you're really angry about?"

"You want to know what I'm angry about? I'm angry that it took me so long to figure out that Elowen is nothing but a selfish, conniving little bitch. She's no better than Katherine and she fooled us into thinking she was any better than her."

Stefan had Damon against the wall with his hand around his throat within seconds. "You take that back," he growled.

"What if I don't, huh? What are you gonna do? Kill me?"

"I'm not gonna fight you, because it's not what Elowen would want, but that doesn't mean I can't do this." Stefan drew his hand back and punched Damon square in the jaw, hard enough to break his neck and to throw him off his feet.

He felt a lot better after that.

**xxxx**

Elijah, Elena and Elowen walked up the stairs of the Lockwood mansion. Elijah knocked on the door and Carol opened it.

"Elijah, Elena, Elowen! What are you doing here?" She took notice of the state Elijah's suit was in and shook her head. "What happened?"

"I've had a bit of an incident, Carol," Elijah told her. "I'm hoping you could help."

"Well, I'm on my way to a meeting, so I-"

Elijah stepped forward and started to compel her. "It won't take but a minute of your time."

Carol smiled and stepped aside. "Of course. Anything you need."

"Thank you."

Elijah, Elena and Elowen all stepped in the house and Elowen closed the door behind her.

"Well, first things first, I'm going to need a change of clothing. Second," Elijah put his hand on the small of Elowen's back and slightly pushed her forward, "this one needs a shower and fresh set of clothes as well."

Elowen turned her wide eyes onto Elijah, who simply stayed looking at Carol.

"Well, we can try one of my husband's suits," Carol suggested. "I haven't boxed them up yet." She glanced at Elowen. "As for you… well, I don't think any of my clothes would fit you-"

"I can wear something of Toby's," Elowen politely interrupted her. "I used to do it all the time as a kid. He won't mind. Where is Toby, anyway?"

"I believe he's at your house, actually, which brings me to ask what you're doing here?"

"Oh. Um…"

"We have some business to take care of together," Elijah swooped in and saved her. "I'll have her back at home in no time. Now, how about those clothes?"

Carol smiled again. "Of course. Right this way." She turned and went upstairs, leaving Elijah, Elena and Elowen alone. Elena turned to Elijah in surprise.

"How did you know she's not on vervain?" She asked lowly.

"Because I'm the one who got her off it, right before you and your friends killed me. Twice." Elijah's hand hadn't moved from Elowen's back and he started to lead her upstairs to follow Carol. "If you'll excuse us, we'll be down in a moment."

Carol was in her bedroom, sifting through her closet to find a suit of Richard's for Elijah to wear. She turned around with one in her hand and gave it to Elijah.

"Here, try this. It should fit nicely."

Elijah took it. "Thank you. And her?" He looked down at Elowen.

"You can just point me in the direction of Toby's room," she said to Carol. "I can figure out the rest."

"Very well." Carol started gesturing out of the room. "If you go down the hall, his room is the third door on the left. Towels should already be in the bathroom, which is the room right across the hall from his."

Elowen smiled and nodded her head. "Thank you."

She turned and disappeared down the hall for Toby's room. She opened the door and walked in towards his closet. She opened it and a wave of nostalgia suddenly came over her. She was suddenly transported to his childhood bedroom and she was 10 years old again, having had an impromptu sleepover after school and now she needed something to wear the next morning. When they were younger, his clothes used to fit her decently well, but once Toby hit puberty, his jeans started falling right off of her hips and his shirts began to swallow her whole. Elowen was a pretty petite girl, sitting at 5'4, weighing 110 pounds, and being a size 3. Toby was roughly 6'2 and probably came in at around 175 pounds. She could wear his shirts as mini dresses if she wanted to.

A wistful smile was dancing on her lips as she flipped through his clothes. She came to a slow stop when she came across a black Nirvana hoodie. Her smile widened as she took it off of its hanger and held it in her hands. She'd given him the hoodie on his 11th birthday. At the time she had her mom buy it, Hot Topic only had extra larges left and it was two sizes too big, but now it probably fit him perfectly. Elowen brought the hoodie up to her nose and deeply inhaled. It smelled just like Old Spice deodorant. He started wearing it the second he turned 13 and she had to laugh at knowing he still used it after all this time.

"Everything okay in here?"

Elowen just about jumped out of her skin and whipped around, coming face to face with Elijah. He was standing right behind her and she took a step back, going farther into the closet to put some distance between them. Elijah chuckled.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He lifted his hand and gingerly brushed some of her hair out of her face. "I know you aren't feeling at your best right now." His fingers came down and rubbed some of the dried blood that was still on her lips away. "You'll feel better under the shower. Come on."

"I appreciate what you're doing, but I'm not an invalid, Elijah," Elowen said. "I can take care of myself."

A look of affection flashed through Elijah's eyes and Elowen felt like she was safe and that everything was going to be okay. She knew he was probably only acting this way because she looked like Marisol, but she decided to cherish it anyway. Elijah nodded his head.

"Alright." He took a step back. "I shall see you back downstairs."

Elowen watched as he left the room and then turned back towards the closet. She reached up towards the shelf and pulled down a pair of basketball shorts that she knew had drawstrings that she could use to make sure they stayed on her, then turned around and wandered over to the shower.

**xxxx**

To say Esmeralda was surprised to see Jenna's name flash across her screen was an understatement. Either way, she quickly answered the phone.

"Jenna?"

"Hey, Esmeralda," Jenna greeted. "Do you happen to know where Elena is? Or Jeremy? Nobody's answering their phones."

"I think Elena's at Stefan's and Jeremy might be with Bonnie. Why? Is everything okay?"

"Elena left me all these weird messages telling me to stay away from Ric and I figured since he's your boyfriend, you'd know what's going on."

"Oh, uh… it's really hard to explain over the phone, but, um, Elena was hoping that you could stay on campus for a little while longer."

"That's kinda hard to do from my kitchen."

"Wait, you're home?"

"Yeah. Seriously, what's going on? Ric asked me to meet him at The Grill for lunch so we could talk. I thought it was odd that he said you weren't going to be there."

Esmeralda sat up in her chair, gaining Toby, Eliana and Sydney's attention. Josiah was, of course, at Caroline's. Binx was lounging by Toby's feet.

"Jenna, listen to me carefully. Whatever you do, do not meet Alaric at The Grill. I'm going to come over right now and I'll explain everything."

She hung up and quickly stood up from the kitchen table. Toby got up from the couch in the living room.

"What's up?" He asked. "Was that Jenna?"

Esmeralda nodded her head and collected her keys from the island. "She's back from campus. I'm going over there now."

"Let me come with. I want to help. Just sitting here waiting for Elowen to come back is driving me insane."

Esmeralda stopped at the front door and sighed. She figured it was a bad idea. Jenna barely knew who Toby was and if she had a stranger trying to tell her vampires, werewolves and witches were real, she'd be even less accepting. But this was Toby. She opened the door and nodded outside.

"Come on. Go."

**xxxx**

Elijah, Elena and Elowen were now all seated in the living room. Elowen had just gotten out of the shower and she was brushing her hair, seated next to Elijah on the couch. Elena was sitting across from them in an armchair.

"So, I assume that the Martin witches are no longer with us," Elijah guessed.

"No," Elena replied. "I'm sorry."

"And Katerina? She would have been released from my compulsion when I died."

"Klaus took her. We think that she may be dead."

"She's not," Elowen told her as she set the brush down on the coffee table. "Klaus has her compelled to not leave Alaric's apartment."

"Death would be too easy for her after what she did," Elijah agreed. His eyes turned onto Elowen. "And the other man in the tomb you had me compel? What became of him?"

Elowen grew silent. She'd worn a scarf to the dance to cover up the bite marks, and her mom's shirt had been a turtleneck, which also kept the bite marks hidden. The hoodie was big enough to also keep them covered, but she lifted her hand and pulled the collar down to finally reveal the bites. Elena's eyes widened and Elijah carefully brushed his fingers over them. Elowen grimaced and he drew back.

"Who is he?" Elijah asked. "I'll see to it myself that he suffers."

"... My dad," Elowen replied softly. "He's my dad."

"You mean Luis did this?"

Elowen furrowed her eyebrows and glanced at Elijah. "How do you know his name?"

"Your mother briefly spoke of him during our time together. I never met him, but she told me his name and that he was your father. Nothing more." Elijah unbuttoned the cuff of his sleeve and rolled it up enough to expose his wrist. Elowen furrowed her eyebrows.

"What are you doing?"

Without a word, he bit into his wrist and offered it to her. Elowen hesitantly took his wrist into his hands. He nodded at her.

"It's alright. I'd drink before I heal."

Elowen took a sip and immediately noticed that his blood tasted different from Stefan and Damon's. It was a weird thing to acknowledge, but it tasted sweeter. She assumed that it had something to do with being an Original and had to force herself away after she'd drank enough. His blood was intoxicating and she almost didn't want to stop. When she was done, Elijah calmly pulled his sleeve down and buttoned the cuff back up.

"Now, where were we? Ah, yes."

"_From where are you from, Katerina?" Klaus asked Katherine._

"_I'm new to town, my lord," Katherine replied._

"_Katerina is from Bulgaria," Elijah informed him._

"_Zdravei, Katerina," Klaus said with a smug smile. Katherine laughed in delight at the sound of her native language._

"_Very good!"_

_Klaus glanced at Elijah. "Do you mind, brother? I would like to have a moment alone with her."_

_Elijah shook his head. "No, not at all. Happy birthday, brother."_

Elena stared at Elijah in shock. Her mouth had dropped open and everything. Elowen, on the other hand, was confused as to why she didn't have a premonition like she usually did when people told her stories. Was she not meant to see this? Did it have something to do with Marisol's connection to him?

"Yes, Klaus is my brother," Elijah repeated upon seeing Elena's face.

"I heard that. I'm still processing."

Elijah looked down at Elowen and saw that she didn't seem surprised in the slightest. In fact, she looked slightly troubled.

"Everything alright?"

Elowen blinked, looking up at Elijah. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. It's just… I thought Nik was your brother."

Elijah lifted his eyebrows. The only two people he knew called Klaus Nik was his sister Rebekah and well, Marisol. How did she know that?

"I get bits and pieces of her memories through premonitions," Elowen explained before he could ask. "A man named Nik is almost always there. Somebody named Kol, too, once or twice. Are they both your brothers?"

After a beat, Elijah nodded. For some reason, he didn't want to tell her that Nik and Klaus were the same person. He supposed that she should find out for herself.

"My father was a wealthy landowner in a village in Eastern Europe. Our mother bore seven children."

"There's a whole family of Originals?" Elena asked in disbelief. "And your parents were human?"

"Our whole family was," Elijah answered, unfazed by her reaction. "Our origin as vampires is a very long story, Elena. Just know that we're the oldest vampires in the world. We are the Original Family, and from us all vampires were created."

"But, Klaus is your brother, and you want him dead?"

Elijah stood up from the couch and put out a hand for Elowen to take. After a moment, she placed her hand in his and he helped her to her feet. "I need some air. I'm still feeling a tad… dead. Come."

**xxxx**

Damon approached Alaric's apartment door as quietly as he could. He listened in for anything unusual, but when he didn't hear a thing, he twisted the knob, hard, as to unlock it, and let the door swing open.

After he'd woken up in the living room after Stefan killed him, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He knew that he couldn't enter Alaric's apartment because he hadn't been invited in, but he had a hunch that Katherine might still be alive and figured this would be the best place to check. Sure enough, she was standing a few feet away from the door.

"Thought you might be dead," he told her with a shrug.

"Unfortunately not." Katherine crossed her arms. "What are you doing here?"

"I figured you still might be kicking. Alaric/Klaus was blending _way _too easily. Figured he probably had some coaching."

"He's on a witch hunt for your girlfriend, you know."

Damon clenched his jaw. "She's not my girlfriend."

Katherine quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? Trouble in paradise? Well, either way, it probably has something to do with what happened yesterday morning."

"She was here yesterday morning?"

"She came the night before and I guess somebody attacked her in the hallway." Katherine shrugged. "Klaus brought her in and started demanding to know all these things about her. I thought it was weird at first, but then when she woke up, something freaky happened."

She didn't elaborate and Damon had to roll his eyes. Of course.

"Alright, I'll bite. What happened?"

"She started claiming she was somebody named Marisol. Put on a whole charade and everything. Klaus seemed to know who she was… and judging by your face, this isn't the first time something like this has happened. Do tell."

"It's none of your business. What is your business, however, is this." He held up a vial of vervain.

"... Is that...?"

"Vervain? Your salvation."

"It's not going to undo anything."

"There's always a loophole. Did he tell you to stay in this apartment until he said it was okay to leave?"

Katherine opened her mouth to speak, but found herself unable to. The words were there, they just didn't want to come.

"You can't say. Did he tell you to do absolutely everything he says until the end of time?"

"No."

"There's your loophole. Drink this and it'll prevent any further compulsion."

Katherine walked over to take the vial, but of course wasn't able to cross the threshold. She held her hand out.

"Give it to me."

"Answer me one question first. You double crossed us with Isobel, why?"

"It wasn't just Isobel. It was your precious Elowen who thought of the plan in the first place, and it would've worked if Isobel wasn't compelled the whole time."

"Just answer the question."

"I didn't think you could stand a chance against Klaus, and neither did she. We were looking out for ourselves."

If it were any other time, Damon would've defended Elowen, but right now wasn't any other time. He was angry. He felt betrayed. So, he let Katherine say whatever she wanted.

"Here." He tossed her the vial. "Be careful with that. If he finds out you have that, you're never getting out of here."

Katherine opened the vial and took a sip. She went into a small coughing fit, but recovered quickly.

"You owe me. And I _will _collect."

Damon turned and left.

**xxxx**

Jenna opened the front door and Esmeralda and Toby walked in.

"Hey, Jenna," Esmeralda greeted as she walked in. "Have you met Toby before? Well, he's Elowen's best friend. Look, thank you so much for not going to The Grill."

"Um, Esmeralda…" Jenna tried to say, but before anything else could be said, Toby grabbed Esmeralda's arm tightly and made her look up. Alaric/Klaus was standing in the kitchen.

"Hi, love," Klaus said. "How's it going?"

**xxxx**

**Author's Note**: Okay, there's a reason Damon is getting super mad at Elowen the way he is. He feels incredibly betrayed and honestly a little stupid that he fell for "another Katherine", but him reacting the way he is gets explained in a later chapter if I remember right. Anyway, we're nearing the end of season 2! I might've said it already, but I'm really excited to post season 3! I think it was by far the funnest season to write so far, so I hope you guys like it when we get there :)


	37. Chapter 37

Esmeralda, Toby and Jenna all sat at the dinner table while Klaus chopped up vegetables in the kitchen. Him having a knife made Esmeralda nervous.

"You know…" Klaus spoke up. "I find chopping… calming. The feel of the blade in the hand, maybe."

"I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what the hell is going on," Jenna told them.

"Well, would you like to tell her, Esmeralda, or should I?"

"Tell me what?"

"Jenna, listen to me," Esmeralda started to speak. "I promise you that I'll explain everything, but right now, we need to get out of here. You've gotta trust me."

"Oh, come on! I'm making lunch," Klaus said. "You're just gonna bail on me now?"

"Jenna, please," Esmeralda begged. Jenna looked between Esmeralda and Alaric, completely torn. She wanted to know what was happening right beneath her nose so badly, but right now, she was shaken up. Why was Esmeralda so on edge? What had Ric done? Now that she thought about it…. Alaric did seem a little… off. Speaking of Alaric, he was looking at her in a way that made her uncomfortable, like he was trying to intimidate her, almost.

Eventually, Jenna nodded her head. "Okay, Esmeralda. We'll leave."

"You're not going anywhere." Klaus gripped the knife in his hand tightly as he walked around the counter. Toby used his enhanced werewolf speed to shove Klaus roughly against the wall. The force Toby used caused Klaus to drop the knife. Jenna stood up in surprise.

"You're in a human body, which means I'm stronger than you," Toby all but snarled through clenched teeth. His hand was around Klaus's throat. "I'd be careful if I were you." Without taking his eyes off of Klaus, he addressed Esmeralda. "Take Jenna and go. Go!"

Esmeralda grabbed Jenna's arm and dragged her out of the house. Klaus laughed in Toby's face.

"What are you gonna do, wolf? Hmm? You won't kill me. Katherine told me you have a soft spot for the witch and I know for a fact that she'll be very upset with you if you go through with it. If you do, who's to say I won't choose you next?"

Toby's grip tightened on Klaus, who laughed again.

"Is that all you've got? Pathetic. No wonder the witch chose two vampire brothers over you."

This seemed to set Toby off. He decked Klaus in the jaw twice before Klaus fell to the ground, unconscious. To be on the safe side, Toby threw a kick to the stomach to make sure he was down, then took his leave.

**xxxx**

Elijah, Elena and Elowen were walking outside through the Lockwood property now.

"So, as you've seen, nothing can kill an Original," Elijah was telling them. "Not sun, not fire, not even a werewolf bite. Only the wood from one tree. A tree my family made sure burned."

"That's where the white ash for the dagger comes from," Elena guessed.

"Yes. The witches won't allow anything truly immortal to walk the earth. Every creature needs to have a weakness in order to maintain balance."

"So, the sun can't kill an Original. Why is Klaus so obsessed with breaking the sun and moon curse?"

Elowen shook her head. "No. It's not about the sun and the moon."

Elijah looked down at her in surprise. Elowen ignored him.

"Marisol said it wasn't."

Elijah's look of surprise morphed into one of mild confusion and intrigue.

"Marisol said it wasn't?" He echoed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Right. You don't know. Marisol has taken over my body twice now. The first time was when you were daggered at the lake house. The second time it was in front of Klaus and Katherine. It's like I go to sleep when it happens and she just… manifests herself. Stefan said that she said the curse didn't bind the sun and the moon, but I woke up before she could say anything else."

"Interesting," Elijah mumbled. "It would certainly support the reincarnation theory. And you mentioned you've been seeing her memories?"

Elowen nodded. Elijah hummed.

"Interesting," he muttered again.

"Okay, so it's not the curse of the sun and the moon," Elena cut in, putting the topic back on the right track. "What is it?"

"The curse of the sun and the moon is fake. It doesn't exist," Elijah started to explain as he walked away. Elowen kept up with him, but Elena was left scrambling after him. "Easiest way to discover the existence of a doppelganger or to get your hands on some long, lost moonstone is to have every single member of two warring species on the lookout. Klaus and I faked the sun and the moon curse dating back a thousand years. The real curse is much worse. It's a curse placed on Klaus. He's been trying to break it for the last thousand years."

Elena's phone started to buzz inside Elijah's jacket pocket. Elowen heard it vibrating against his chest and Elijah glanced down at it, too.

"What is this curse?" Elena asked as Elijah came to a stop. Ignoring her, he pulled her phone out of his pocket.

"Your phone will not stop its incessant buzzing. Answer it, please."

Elena took it and answered it. "Toby? What's wrong? No. No, no, no. Okay. I'll be right there." She hung up the line and glanced at Elijah. "Klaus went after Jenna. I have to go to her."

"I'm afraid that wasn't part of today's arrangement."

"She's my family, Elijah. I have to. I'll be back. You have my word."

"That doesn't mean anything to me until you live up to it."

"Thank you."

Elena ran off to her car, leaving Elijah and Elowen alone. He looked down at her.

"Shall we head back inside? It seems we have some time to kill."

Elowen nodded and the two of them started walking back towards the Lockwood mansion.

Elowen had settled back in the living room while Elijah started a fire.

"So," he spoke up. "Want to tell me more about what you've been experiencing with Marisol?"

Elowen shrugged. "There's not much else to tell. She's possessed me twice, I've been seeing her memories and Damon thinks it's reincarnation." She sighed. "It would explain why it felt like I knew you when I first met you that day, when Rose brought us to you. You just felt so… _familiar_, and it killed me to not know why. I can't explain it, but I want to be your friend, protect you. You make me feel safe. I don't think I can trust you, I _know_ I can trust you. It's partially the reason I was so ready to leave with you before they killed you. I mean, yeah, I wanted answers, but I guess the Marisol in me wanted you more. It's the same with Klaus. Marisol must've cared a lot about him, too."

Elijah laughed softly. "Oh, she didn't just care about him. She was taken with him. I think she idolized him to some extent."

"Was she in love with him?"

"She might've been. It's not unlikely that maybe she harbored feelings for him and she just didn't know it."

Elijah finished starting the fire and came to sit across from Elowen. She tilted her head.

"But, what about Kol? He was obviously in love with her. How did she feel about him?"

"Ah, yes, Kol. He most certainly loved her. I never could quite figure out how she felt about him."

"He tried to save her, the morning of the sacrifice. He said she needed to run, but she refused. She said that she was meant to die."

"That she was. It was what she was created for, after all."

"And you were just okay with raising a little girl so she could die? You obviously cared for her, or else you wouldn't be projecting it onto me. She was like a daughter to you."

Elijah sighed. "This was during a time where I would've done anything for Klaus, and raising a little girl up so she could die was one of those things. It's one of my deepest regrets. She deserved to live."

Elowen gave a sad smile. "Well, look at it this way. If it really is reincarnation and I really am her reborn, then she's getting to live the life she deserved."

Elijah wore a smile identical to hers. "Yes, I suppose so."

A lapse of silence passed through them. It wasn't awkward or tense, in fact, it was comfortable. Elowen found herself standing up and walking over to Elijah. She took a seat next to him and crossed her legs on the couch. She hesitated for a moment before grabbing one of Elijah's hands and absentmindedly started playing with his fingers. He didn't seem to mind.

"... Did you love my mom?" She asked, finally breaking the silence. Elijah looked over at her to let her know she had his full attention. "Because she loved you. She might hate me for telling you this, but she still loves you even now. I think to her, you're the one that got away, the one that slipped through her fingers. She would've followed you anywhere had you not told her to stay. She said you kissed her, which had to have meant something, right?"

Elijah smiled fondly as he remembered his time with Esmeralda. It took his moment to answer and Elowen almost repeated herself because she thought he wasn't going to say anything.

"I guess, to some degree, I did love your mother. Not in the same way that she loved me, but I did care strongly about her."

"But you weren't _in_ love with her."

Elijah shook his head. "No. I don't believe in love anymore, at least not in that way."

"And you're sure?"

"I'm quite certain."

Another blanket of silence fell over them. Elowen had leaned into Elijah and rested her head against his shoulder as she continued to play with his hand. Her eyes fell closed and she felt herself beginning to fall asleep. In a sense, she did, because when she opened her eyes, she wasn't Elowen anymore.

Marisol sat up abruptly and Elijah looked down at her to make sure everything was okay. When her eyes found his, they immediately filled with tears as she flung herself into his arms.

"Oh, Elijah! You're alive!" Her heavily accented voice rang out loudly. "I thought you were dead! Those men killed you."

Elijah was still trying to process what was happening when she suddenly pulled back.

"Nik. Nik, he said that I'm dead. It can't be true. Why would he say that?"

Elijah furrowed his eyebrows as it slowly started to piece together in his head. "... Marisol?"

"Of course it's me! I'm right in front of you! Who else would I be?"

A smile slowly broke out on his face and he pulled her in for a long hug. "Oh, Marisol." He pulled away and the smile gradually fell away as he remembered this wasn't Marisol. Not exactly. "Marisol, what Niklaus told you is true. You've been dead for some time now."

Marisol pushed him away and jumped onto her feet. "But, that's not possible! I'm standing right in front of you!"

Elijah calmly stood up and walked over to her. He took her hands in his. "In a way, yes, you are. You're living in the body of a girl named Elowen."

Marisol shook her head and turned to look at the big mirror hanging on the wall. "I don't understand. I look like myself!"

"We believe that you've been reborn into this girl's body, which explains why she looks like you. Marisol, I was there the night you died. You are, without a doubt, dead."

Marisol shook her head, still in disbelief. "If I'm dead, does that mean the ritual worked? Did Nik break the curse?"

Elijah slowly shook his head. "No."

"So you mean… you mean I failed?"

"No. No, you didn't fail. It wasn't your fault."

"But… But…" Marisol trailed off. Her eyes went cloudy for a second and then suddenly, she ripped her hands away.

"... Elijah? What happened?" Elowen asked. "One second I'm asleep and now I'm standing in the middle of the room."

Elijah straightened his jacket and cleared his throat. He was doing his best to appear calm and collected. "I do believe you just had one of your Marisol episodes."

Elowen groaned and rubbed her hands over her face. "Oh, not again. I wish there was a way to stop that from happening. I'm getting tired of it."

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure something out." He gestured back towards the couch. "For now, let's just wait for Elena to come back."

Elowen sighed loudly. "I guess that's all we really can do."

She plopped back down on the couch and Elijah sat next to her. She resumed her earlier position, with her head situated on his shoulder, and closed her eyes again.

**xxxx**

"Is she gonna be okay?" Esmeralda asked as Elena exited the room her and Jenna had been in. Toby was there, too, and so was Stefan. They were all looking at her expectantly.

"She's in shock," Elena replied. "I tried to tell her as much as I could, but I barely scratched the surface."

"... How's Elowen?" Toby asked softly. He wasn't sure if it was such a good time to ask, but he had to know. He respected her request to not go look for her, but not knowing how she was doing was killing him.

"She's doing better. She looked… bad. She was throwing up blood and she looked so, well, dead. Using all that magic really took a toll on her. I think if she used any more, she wouldn't have made it. But, Elijah took care of her. It was weird… I think he cares about her."

"No, he _thinks_ he does," Stefan finally spoke up. "She looks like Marisol. He's letting that cloud his judgement."

"Well, whatever his reason, can you tell him thank you?" Esmeralda asked. "Say it's from me."

Elena nodded her head. "I will."

"Wait, you mean you're going back?" Toby questioned.

"I promised him that I would return. I can't break that promise. I'll be okay."

Elena left and headed for the front door just as Damon entered the room.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked.

"Back to Elijah."

"Are you crazy? No." Damon stepped in front of Elena's way and blocked the path towards the front door.

"Get out of my way, Damon. Elijah is giving me answers and if it weren't for Elowen, I don't think he'd be so open. The opportunity is there and I'm taking it. You can't stop me."

"Oh, yes I can."

"Let her go." Stefan stepped forward and tightly grabbed his arm. "I said let her go."

Damon glared at his brother, but let Elena go nonetheless. Elena moved passed them and left. There was a tense silence in the room before Esmeralda broke it.

"I'm gonna make sure Jenna gets home safely. I'll stay and keep an eye on her to make sure Klaus doesn't come back." She took a step back towards the room Jenna was in. "Toby?"

"I'm gonna stay here. Elowen might stop here first when she comes back."

"And why would she do that?" Damon snapped. "She's not welcome here."

"Because whether or not you want to believe it, you still have a common goal of wanting Klaus dead. It's not her fault she has a connection to Marisol. It's not fair of you to hold her accountable for something out of her hands."

Damon scoffed. "Whatever."

He turned and left the room, leaving Esmeralda, Toby and Stefan on their own.

**xxxx**

The sound of the front door to the Lockwood mansion opening and closing echoed throughout the house. Elowen and Elijah looked at each other and then over at the doorway to the room, where Elena appeared a second later.

"Welcome back," Elijah greeted.

"Tell me. What is Klaus's curse?" Elena asked immediately.

"Please." Elijah gestured to the empty couch that was across from him and Elowen, who was still curled up against Elijah's side. Elena took note of this but didn't say anything. Instead, she walked over and took a seat. Only then did Elijah continue.

"My family was quite close, but Klaus and my father did not get on too well. When we became vampires, we discovered the truth. Klaus was not my father's son. My mother had been unfaithful many years before. This was her darkest secret. Klaus is from a different bloodline. Of course, when my father discovered this, he hunted down and he killed my mother's lover and his entire family, not realizing, of course, that he was igniting a war between species that rages until this day."

"Vampires and werewolves," Elowen elaborated at Elena's confused face. Elijah had made sure to tell her nothing of the story until Elena returned, but it wasn't that hard to figure out what he was talking about. Elijah nodded.

"So, Klaus's real father was from a werewolf bloodline?" Elena asked in both disbelief and confusion. "What does that make Klaus? A werewolf, or a vampire?"

"He's both," Elijah replied. "A hybrid would be deadlier than any werewolf or vampire. Nature would not stand for such an imbalance of power. Therefore, the witches, servants of nature, saw to it that my brother's werewolf side would become dormant."

"That's the curse Klaus wants to break?"

"He wants to trigger the part of him that's a werewolf. If allowed, Klaus would sire his own bloodline. He'd build his own race, endangering not just vampires, but everyone."

"But, you helped him."

"I helped him because I loved him. That's changed. Now he must die."

"We have the dagger now. We can stop him."

Elowen shook her head. "It doesn't work that way. Silver doesn't hurt werewolves and the dagger is made of silver."

Elijah nodded. "She's right. An Original can't be killed by anything but white oak ash on a silver dagger. It does not work."

"What, are you saying that Klaus can't be killed?" Elena questioned with wide eyes.

"There's only one way to kill any supernatural species. At the hands of the servants of nature themselves."

"Witches," Elena realized.

"Elijah said once before that Klaus would be his weakest after the ritual," Elowen started to explain. "It's why I was going to lure him out with you and the moonstone. I was working on finding a spell that would save you, but we haven't come across anything useful. Bringing someone back from the dead just isn't part of the nature Elijah speaks of."

"Funny you should bring that up," Elijah said. "Back when Katerina was still human, before the ritual was set to happen, I found a coven of witches who believed they found a way to spare the doppelganger. A potion which you would drink and when you died, it would bring you back unharmed."

"You mean you found a way to save the life of the doppelganger?" Elena asked in surprise.

"Yes, Elena, I did. But, unfortunately, Katerina took matters in her own hands first. I believe you already know how that played out." Elijah glanced down at Elowen. "And since you already have a witch on your side who can channel the power she needs, you already have all the pieces of the puzzle."

"... You cared about her, didn't you?" Elena questioned. "Katherine, I mean."

Elijah stood up from his spot on the couch and walked over to the doorway of the room. Elowen sent Elena a look that screamed, 'Why would you ask that?!' and she quickly averted her eyes.

"It's a common mistake, I'm told," Elijah responded at last. "And it's one I won't make again."

He left the room and Elowen hastily got up to follow him. Elena was right behind her. He was opening up the front door when she caught up.

"I do believe we have two vampire brothers, a werewolf and a family of witches to consult."

"About that," Elena's voice was rushed, as if she were afraid he'd leave before she could speak. "Esmeralda said thank you for taking care of Elowen."

A fond smile briefly crossed Elijah's face before it disappeared. Elowen narrowed his eyes. Something in her didn't believe him not being in love with her mom.

"We should take our leave," he said at last before exiting the house.

**xxxx**

"You _really _don't need to be here," Damon told Toby, who was seated stubbornly on the couch in the library.

"Considering you're convinced Elowen betrayed you and Stefan partially believes that, I think I do. She needs to know _somebody_ is on her side."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Oh, give me a break. Just finally admit that you're in love with her and leave."

"There you go again with the jealousy act." Toby stood up. "For the last time, I'm not in love with her."

Damon scoffed. "Sure, wolf boy. Whatever you say."

"God, what is your problem? You act like you're upset with her, yet you act like the green eyed monster. Make up your mind."

"Oh, I don't care if you're in love with her. You can have her. She's just a double crossing bitch who could rival Katherine's greatest hits."

Toby's eyes darkened and he started towards Damon. "You're gonna want to take that back."

"Funny, you're the second person to say that to me today. What are you gonna do? Without a full moon, you can't hurt me."

"That doesn't mean I can't try."

Before Toby could make it all the way towards Damon, Damon sped forward and punched him hard enough to send him flying across the room. He crashed into the bookshelf and it broke when he made contact with it. Toby got up and picked up a piece of the now broken shelf as a makeshift stake and threw it at Damon. A fun fact about Toby is that he knew how to throw knives; it was something he picked up when he was 15 and it ended up being a bonding point for him and Mason. It's exactly why the stake easily embedded itself in Damon's stomach.

Damon clenched his teeth through the pain and ripped the stake out. He growled and, with the stake in hand, started advancing on Toby. Stefan, having heard the commotion, ran into the room and immediately went towards Damon to hold him back.

"Hey! Knock it off!"

"Get out of my way, Stefan," Damon growled. "It's time I finally put the mutt in his spot."

"No."

"No?" Damon laughed humorlessly. He stabbed Stefan in the side, who groaned, but kept his grip on Damon as he pulled it out. "Move, Stefan."

"Make me."

Damon shrugged. "Alright, then."

He swiftly grabbed onto Stefan's throat, who in turn grabbed Damon's neck, and they struggled around for a minute or two. They didn't hear the front door open and close and didn't notice Elijah, Elena and Elowen enter the room.

"Stop!" Elowen shouted when she saw the scene in front of her. Stefan and Damon released each other and Damon rushed at Elowen and pinned her against the wall behind her by her shoulders.

"You have a lot of nerve coming here."

With in the blink of an eye, Elijah had Damon lifted into the air by his throat. "I suggest you keep your hands to yourself. Are we clear?"

Damon nodded his head and Elijah promptly dropped him. He hit the ground with a dull thud. During this time, Elowen had fast walked down the stairs towards Toby. He'd just wiped his bleeding nose with the back of his hand when she reached him.

"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly, looking him over. Her hands were cradling his face as she looked into his eyes. Toby also took her face in his hands and did the same with her.

"Don't worry about me. Are _you_ okay?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry, I'm…" She trailed off and then started shaking her head. "No. I'm not okay."

Toby pulled her into a hug and Stefan had to stop himself from feeling envious as he watched on. It was supposed to be _him_ in Toby's place. This was _his_ job. Except now, almost all trust had gone out the window and while once upon a time, Stefan would always side with Elowen, recently it was hard to say that. She was so willing to team up with the enemy to get what she wanted, but that didn't mean he didn't still love her. He just needed some time alone with her to talk. Elowen and Toby pulled apart when Elena started to talk.

"Elijah and I have renewed the terms of our deal."

Elijah stepped forward. "The three of you will come to no harm at my hands. I only ask for one thing in return. An apology."

"A what?" Damon asked as if he hadn't heard him right. Toby took hold of Elowen's hand and walked over to Elijah.

"I'm sorry for daggering you that night at the lake house. I was doing what I thought was best for Elowen. I realize now that that was a mistake."

Elijah nodded his head in acknowledgment. Toby started pulling Elowen up the stairs and towards the door.

"We should get you home," he told her lowly.

"If you two don't mind," Elijah spoke up before they left the room, "I'd feel much more at ease if I escorted you, with Klaus on the loose."

Elowen nodded at Toby to let him know it was okay. His hand tightened around hers, but he complied. It was Stefan's turn to step up to Elijah.

"I'm also sorry for the part I played in your death. I was protecting Elowen." His eyes flickered over to her. "I will always protect Elowen."

"I understand."

Everyone's eyes turned onto Damon. He'd gotten up from the ground awhile ago and had walked over to pour himself a drink. He took a sip and didn't say anything. They were all looking at him expectantly and he rolled his eyes.

"If you think I'm giving an apology, you're wrong. You can all go to hell." His eyes found Elowen's. "Especially you." He took his drink and left the room. Elowen cast her eyes at the ground and Toby squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"He's angry with me," she spoke up softly. "I don't know if he'll come around."

Elijah looked over and saw how crushed she looked and felt a twinge of sympathy for her. He quickly looked away and cleared his throat. "Well, if that's all, then I suppose we should take our leave."

He walked over to Elowen and held his arm out. She took it with her free hand and her, Elijah and Toby left.

**xxxx**

Elijah, Toby and Elowen climbed the steps to her house. The front door flung open to reveal a worried Esmeralda, but she stopped short when she saw Elijah.

"Elijah. What are you doing here?"

Elowen and Toby glanced at each other with knowing looks.

"We'll leave you to it, mom," Elowen said as her and Toby started to walk around her. "We can talk later."

They disappeared into the house and the front door closed with a soft click behind her. Elijah took a step towards Esmeralda and closed the gap between them. Esmeralda felt her heartbeat pick up and her breath hitched in her throat. Elijah gave a small smile of fondness and raised a hand to cup her face. Esmeralda closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.

"Your lovely little daughter tells me you still have feelings for me," Elijah said softly. "Is that true?"

Esmeralda's eyes flew open. "She what? Why would she- I mean-" She sighed deeply and nodded her head. "I guess I do."

Elijah hummed in response. "You know, if we're being truthful, part of me regrets telling you to stay with your husband all those years ago. It's selfish of me. Some might call me a homewrecker for it."

"Things would've been so different if you hadn't. Maybe my life would've been happier."

Elijah tilted his head in curiosity. "Happier? Forgive me if I'm intruding, but was your marriage not a happy one? I guess not, since you divorced."

Esmeralda smiled sadly. "No, it wasn't. I wasted almost 20 years of my life with him. I met him when I was 15, in '91. We divorced in 2007. I just wish I'd left him sooner."

"And why didn't you?"

"It was… complicated. He ended up not being a nice person. That's all I'm going to say."

Elijah suddenly remembered Elowen telling him that her father had attacked her and felt one question burning at the tip of his tongue.

"Dear Esmeralda… did he hurt you?"

Esmeralda stayed quiet and Elijah knew the answer.

"I see. Well, stay rest assured that if I ever find him, he won't last long."

A comfortable silence fell over them and Esmeralda couldn't help herself any longer. She tugged on his tie, brought him down towards her and crashed her lips against his. Elijah immediately reciprocated and placed one hand on her hip and the other on the small of her back. Esmeralda kissed him hard and fierce, like her life depended on it, like she would never get the chance to do this again, and it was likely she wouldn't.

They kissed for a few moments before the front door opened.

"Hey, mom-" Josiah cut himself off at the sight in front of him. A dumbfounded look crossed his face and his mouth dropped open. Esmeralda pushed Elijah off of her and wiped her mouth. Elijah straightened up and fixed his suit jacket.

"I guess this is my cue to leave."

Esmeralda loudly cleared her throat as Elijah walked down the porch steps and disappeared. She walked passed Josiah like nothing had happened and it took him a few seconds to catch up with what was going on. He blinked and shut the front door.

What the hell just happened?

Upstairs, Toby and Elowen had just entered Elowen's room. His hand was still interlaced with hers. She walked over to her bed and took a seat, bringing Toby down with her.

"How are you holding up?" He asked her quietly. Elowen shrugged.

"Damon hates me, nobody will tell me what happened to Bonnie, Stefan doubts my every move and I almost died. How do you think?"

"I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do."

"You just being here is enough. Knowing that you still believe me is enough. _You're_ enough."

Elowen suddenly remembered Damon's words from the night before.

"_Oh, wake up and smell the flowers, mutt. You're only siding with her right now because you're in love with her and so far up her ass that you can't see what's right in front of you."_

Followed by what he told her the night Rose died….

"_Just because you never loved him doesn't mean he never loved you."_

Combined with what Toby told her at the lake house….

"_... I miss us," he said quietly after a pause. His hand slowly creeped over to hers and interlaced their fingers together. "If I could do it again, I wouldn't have let you go. I would've held onto you like my life depended on it."_

Elowen just knew she had to ask.

"Are you in love with me?"

Toby blinked and released her hand in surprise. "What?" He asked dumbly.

"Are you in love with me?" She repeated. "I won't be mad at you if you are. It's just, you're my best friend, Toby, and I don't want anything to come between us. Especially not something like this. I just want you to be honest with me, with yourself."

Toby was quiet for a long moment. His eyes were trained on his shoes and he was chewing on his bottom lip. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak.

"I first fell in love with you when we were 12. Y'know, puberty was happening, our bodies were changing, hormones were all over the place, and I guess I just couldn't help myself. I think I finally came to terms with it when we started dating. I was over the moon when it happened. I mean, yeah, we only went out because everyone already thought we were together and we felt like we had to, because apparently guys and girls can't just be friends, but I was secretly hoping that maybe it would make you realize you loved me, too. I never told anymore, not even my mom, because I was afraid that if I admitted it out loud, it would all become too real and I'd have to face the facts, so I kept it to myself."

Toby shrugged one shoulder and kept his eyes away from hers. Elowen gently grabbed onto his face and made him look at her.

"Do you still love me even now?"

"I don't know," Toby answered honestly. "I thought I was over you, but now you're here in my life again and I'm just so confused. Am I still in love with you or am I just happy to have you back?"

Toby slowly brought his hand up and cupped Elowen's cheek. They sat in silence for a moment before he started to carefully lean forward. He paused briefly halfway through when Elowen didn't move and was surprised when she closed the gap. Their lips met in a soft kiss and Toby knew. He was still in love with her.

However, they were both unaware of Stefan sitting just outside the window, watching the whole thing go down.


	38. Chapter 38

"I don't think he's gonna want me here," Elowen was saying to Elijah just outside the boarding house. He called her to meet him there in the morning, along with Elena, who was already inside with Jenna. Elowen just about had to beg Toby to let her come by herself. He'd spent the night and overheard her phone call.

"Well, that's his problem," Elijah calmly replied. "If Damon truly believes you betrayed him, then it's his loss. Obviously, he didn't trust you as well as he or you thought he did."

"And Stefan?"

"He seems much more understanding. I'm confident that he'll be the one to come around. Maybe he'll even slap some sense into his brother."

Elowen sighed and glanced at the front door. Finally, she nodded her head. "Okay."

Elijah opened the door and they both stepped in. They found Elena and Stefan sitting in the library. Elena stood up when they walked in the room, but Stefan clenched his jaw and averted his eyes away from Elowen. She furrowed her eyebrows slightly in confusion, but chalked it up as him being upset with her about Klaus. She came to stand behind Elijah, who stood in front of Stefan and Elena.

"Tonight is the full moon," Elijah spoke. "We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse."

"Elena said that the sun and moon curse is fake?" Stefan asked for clarification. "That it's actually just a curse placed on Klaus."

Elijah nodded. "Klaus is a vampire born of a werewolf bloodline. The curse has kept his werewolf aspect from manifesting. But, if he breaks it… he'll be a true hybrid."

"Then why are we letting him break the curse?" Damon's voice rang out from behind them. Elowen jumped at the sound and quickly stepped back towards the corner. She felt so unwelcome here and she was honestly thinking about just walking out of the house. They probably wouldn't care either way. Damon didn't cast her a glance. "We can kill him today. With Bonnie."

Elowen perked up at Bonnie's name. She still didn't know if she was alive or not, but judging by Damon even mentioning her, that meant she was fine. Thank god.

"She'd die," Elowen quietly spoke up. "I would, too. We have to time it right or else we're goners. Not that you'd care."

The air suddenly turned tense. Damon finally looked at her, but she wished he hadn't. His stare was hard and ice cold. He really didn't want her here.

"You're right. I wouldn't. I'd write Bonnie a nice eulogy, though."

"Enough," Stefan cut in. He looked at Elijah. "How do we break this curse?"

"Well, the ritual itself is relatively straightforward," Elijah explained. "The ingredients, so to speak, you already know."

"The moonstone."

Elijah nodded. "A witch will channel the power of the full moon to release the spell that's bound within the stone. After that, Klaus, being both werewolf and vampire, will sacrifice one of each."

"And where do I fit into it?" Elena asked.

"The final part of the ritual." Elijah had been holding a small wooden box in his hands and walked over to set it down on the table. "Klaus must drink the blood of the doppelganger to the point of your death." He opened the box and picked up a jar that had been sitting inside. "This is an elixir that I acquired some 500 years ago for Katerina. It possesses mystical properties of resuscitation."

"So, I'll be dead?"

"And then you won't."

Damon scoffed. "That's your plan? A magical witch potion with no expiration date?" He glanced at Elena. "You want to come back to life? What about John's ring?"

"There's a chance the ring won't work on her," Elowen dared to say to him. "Doppelgangers are a supernatural occurrence and the ring only works on humans."

"I'll take those odds over some elixir. What if it doesn't work?"

Elena shrugged. "Then I guess I'll just be dead."

Damon stared at Elena for a long moment before shaking his head and leaving the room. She turned her attention to Elijah and Elowen.

"Do we know if Klaus has everything he needs to do this? Does he have a werewolf?"

"As far as I'm aware, Toby is the only werewolf in town," Elowen told her. "It's why I've got him on lockdown at my house. If he stays in a place Klaus isn't invited into, surrounded by witches, he might be able to survive this."

"Klaus has been waiting to break this curse for over a thousand years," Elijah said. "If he doesn't already have a werewolf, my guess is by tonight, he will, even if it's your dear friend Toby."

**xxxx**

Elowen was getting ready to take her leave. They had all finished talking and she wanted nothing more than to get out of this house. She felt like she was being suffocated by just being there. Damon wanted nothing to do with her and Stefan had been acting weird the whole time, so she didn't see a reason to stay. Except, however, when she reached the front door, she was surprised to see Stefan standing there.

His hands were deep in his pockets and he was pacing around. He stopped when he heard her approaching and waited a moment before he said anything.

"Hey."

Elowen stopped a few feet away from him. "Hey."

"Listen, can I talk to you? In private?"

"Um, yeah… sure."

Stefan walked passed her towards the stairs and Elowen followed him quietly. They ended up in his bedroom. Stefan closed the door behind them as Elowen walked into the middle of the room. An awkward silence passed through them before Stefan said anything.

"If… if anything is happening between you and Toby, you can tell me."

Elowen furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"

"You and Toby. Is something going on between you two? Because I can handle it. We haven't exactly been treating you nicely and if you found some kind of solace in him, then good for you."

"I'm confused. Where is this coming from?"

Stefan jammed his hands back in his pockets. "Last night, I went to your house to try and talk to you, y'know, about everything that went down, and…"

"And?"

"I saw you two kiss. So, I'm gonna ask you again and please, don't lie. Is there something going on?"

Realization dawned on Elowen's face and she immediately started shaking her head. "No, Stefan, you're misunderstanding. I was trying to prove a point."

"And to prove that you had to kiss him? I'm not following that logic."

"What Damon said got to me and I asked him if he was in love with me. I kissed him so he could figure it out."

"And does he?"

"Does he what?"

"Love you."

Elowen sighed and slowly nodded her head. Stefan clenched his jaw.

"And do you love him back?"

"No," she replied immediately. "Not the way I love you and Damon."

Stefan paused and Elowen hadn't realized what she had said yet. She was still staring at him, waiting for his response.

"... Damon?" Stefan asked after a few beats. "You're in love with Damon?"

Elowen blinked in confusion and seemed to finally understand what had come out of her mouth. Her eyes widened.

"I… Did I…? I mean..."

Stefan was looking at her both uncertainly and expectantly. It took Elowen a few minutes to collect her thoughts. She looked at the ground and played with a loose thread that was at the bottom of her shirt.

"I guess I am," she said at last. "I just didn't know it. I don't know when it happened. It's not like it matters now. He hates me."

"He doesn't hate you-"

"Yes he does," Elowen cut him off curtly. "Elijah said that he must not trust me or love me like he thought he did if he was so quick to think I'd double cross you. I'm not Katherine."

"He thinks you are. He said you're no better than her."

Elowen's eyes flickered up towards his and he saw the hurt swimming behind them. His heart twinged a little seeing her like that. After a beat, Elowen shrugged, her head hanging low.

"Who knows? Maybe he's right."

"Look, he's just angry. He'll come around."

"No, he won't. He loved Katherine for 145 years and dropped her like a fly when he realized she abandoned him. He's just doing the same with me." She shrugged. "Maybe I deserve it."

"No," Stefan said sternly. The strength in his voice made her jump slightly. "No. You made a mistake. That doesn't mean you deserve to be treated like gum on the bottom of someone's shoe."

"Was it really a mistake, though? I willingly sided with Isobel and Katherine. It was all _my_ idea. It was _me_. I was ready to leave my life behind for Elijah without a fight."

"Because of Marisol. That wasn't you."

"And Klaus? Not warning you guys that he was here?"

Stefan kept his mouth shut this time.

"See? Maybe I am no better than Katherine. I did all of this consciously."

"But, you didn't leave with Klaus. Elena said he kidnapped you."

"He did. That doesn't change everything else."

Stefan tentatively walked forward and hesitantly reached for her hands. She let him take them in his.

"I've been thinking. Toby was right. If I really loved you, I wouldn't be treating you the way I have. I would've been trying to be more understanding, would've tried to hear you out first. So, that's what I'm doing right now. I love you, Elle. I'm sorry that I ditched you when you needed me most. I should've been there."

"No, you had every right to act the way you did. I hurt you. You don't blindly love somebody who hurt you. Toby is my best friend. He'll always have my back."

"Yeah, he's your best friend who's in love with you. That's different."

"And you're okay with that? With him being in love with me? There's a chance I could leave you for him."

Stefan faltered. "... Would you?"

Elowen shook her head. "No. Toby has always been my friend. He knows that and he accepts it for what it is. He knows I'd never leave you. He loves me enough to not go there."

Stefan sighed in relief. "I think Damon wants you to choose. He knows and I know that you'd never do that."

"You're right, I wouldn't. It's both of you or none of you, even if it sounds selfish."

"Even though he wants nothing to do with you now?"

Elowen sighed. "I guess that does make things a little different…. Still, I told myself in the beginning that this would be nothing like what happened with Katherine. I wouldn't do that to you." Elowen drew her hands back from Stefan's. "I'm sorry. For everything."

She walked past him and headed for the door. Stefan stood there dumbly for a moment before turning around. It sounded like she was breaking up with him for good and there was no way he'd let her do that. He quickly crossed the room, grabbed her wrist, spun her around and kissed her, hard and passionate. Elowen pushed him away, but he ignored her and went in for another kiss. This time, she let him kiss her. He was holding onto her face with one hand and tightly gripped her hip with his other. She was holding onto his biceps like her life depended on it. When he pulled back, she was breathless. Stefan rested his forehead against hers.

"Please… don't leave me," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

"So am I," she whispered back. "I guess that makes us even."

"Get out!" Came a muffled yell from downstairs. It sounded vaguely like Jenna. Elowen and Stefan both furrowed their eyes, looked at each other, and started to the door of the bedroom.

"Jenna, Jenna!"

Elowen picked up her pace at this and started running down the hall. That sounded like Alaric.

"Get out!" Jenna snapped again.

"Jenna, put the crossbow down, okay? It's me."

"Stay away from me."

"What's going on?" Elena's voice floated upstairs. Elowen made it the end of the hall and started blundering down the stairs. She'd completely left Stefan in the dust and he couldn't keep up with her.

"It's me, Elena," Alaric was saying. "I swear, okay? He let me go. Klaus let me go."

"Prove it," Damon said. Before anything else could happen, Elowen made it to the bottom of the stairs and just about threw herself into Alaric. He barely had time to catch her as she flung her arms around his neck. She could feel a fresh wave of tears pouring down her face, but she didn't care.

"Ric! Oh, you're okay! You're okay. You're okay."

"Hey," Alaric said softly into her ear. He gently pulled her back away from him and held her face in his hands. "Why are you crying?"

Elowen sniffled. "I thought- I don't know. I thought that you were gone. Klaus said you were asleep, in some shape or form, but I didn't believe him. I didn't think we were gonna get you back."

Alaric was wiping the tears from her face with the pads of his thumbs. He was smiling down at her reassuringly and Elowen felt a comforting warmth spread throughout her body.

"Well, I'm here, aren't I? You got me back. I'm okay. Where's Esmeralda?"

"At home."

"I'm sorry, what's going on here?" Jenna asked. The crossbow was still in her hands and she kept it pointed at Alaric and Elowen. "This isn't Ric. Why are we just standing here?"

Elowen finished wiping the wetness from her cheeks and turned around to face Jenna. "It's hard to explain. Elena told you I'm a witch, right?"

Jenna nodded her head warily.

"Well, I know things. It's my specialty power. This is Ric. Trust me."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

Jenna glanced around the room and saw that nobody else was protesting or fighting her, so she slowly lowered the crossbow. Stefan had made it to the bottom of the stairs a few minutes ago and he just had to ask.

"Why did he let you go?"

Alaric looked up at Stefan. "He wanted me to deliver a message. The sacrifice happens tonight."

**xxxx**

"So, you don't remember anything that happened?" Stefan asked. Him, Alaric, Jenna, Elowen, and Elijah were sitting in the living room. Elowen had called Esmeralda and let her know Alaric was back. She said that she was on her way and that Toby would be safe with Josiah, Eliana and Caroline. Sydney was there, of course, but she couldn't help much since she was human.

Alaric shook his head. "No. It's like I blacked out and woke up three days later. Katherine was there."

"She's under compulsion. Damon snuck her some vervain, but she can't leave until Klaus tells her she can."

"Where's Damon?" Elena asked suddenly.

"I saw him go upstairs," Jenna replied.

There was a pause before Elowen stood up. She started heading for the stairs. Both Stefan and Elijah sat up taller.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Elijah asked. Stefan side eyed him. Why was he so concerned about what happened to her? Elowen shook her head.

"No."

She continued her way upstairs. Stefan had gotten up to try and stop her, but Elijah swiftly caught his wrist.

"I think it's best we let them talk. We can hear them, remember?"

Slowly, Stefan took his seat again. Alaric looked at everyone expectantly.

"So, what else did I do?"

Elowen carefully stepped foot into Damon's room. He was standing by the window, looking out of it. He heard her come in, but didn't look back at her. Elowen stood there for a long moment before taking a few tentative steps farther towards him.

"You should leave," Damon said at last. "I don't want you here."

"I know," she mumbled in response.

Damon turned around with his eyebrows furrowed. "Then why are you here?" He asked sharply.

Elowen shrugged her shoulders. "You disappeared."

"I didn't want to hear anymore."

"Since when do you care what happens to Elena? I thought you were playing along to protect me."

"I don't care what happens to her, but that doesn't mean they aren't being stupid. Some 500 year old elixir? Really? They must really want her dead."

"I think it'll work."

"You _think_, or you _know_?"

Elowen stayed quiet.

"Exactly." Damon turned back towards the window. It was silent for a few minutes. Elowen stood there dumbly. Finally, she started to leave the room when Damon spoke up again.

"Why did you do it?"

Elowen slowly turned back around. "Do what?"

"Leave with Klaus."

"I didn't. He kidnapped me."

"That's what Elena told Stefan."

It was Elowen's turn to furrow her eyebrows. "And, what? You thought I was lying?"

Damon didn't say anything. Elowen scoffed.

"It's like ever since this Marisol thing started, you've been waiting for a moment to strike. You don't trust me. You never have."

"That's not true."

"Yes! Yes, it is true. You don't think I can make my own decisions. You think I make all the wrong ones simply because they're not what _you_ want. It was _my_ choice to leave with Elijah. It was _my_ choice to side with Isobel and Katherine. It was _my_ choice to protect Klaus that night."

"But why?" Damon asked loudly, whirling around to face Elowen. "Why did you do any of that? I'll tell you why. Because of Marisol. You did all of that because of this… this _girl_ living inside you. A girl who already had her chance at life."

"A girl who had her life taken away from her. That's not my fault, Damon."

"She's clouding your judgement. Making you think that Elijah and Klaus are the good guys, and you're letting her! You're not even trying to fight it. You _protected_ Klaus, Elowen. Protected him!"

"Because he was in Ric's body!"

"Is that really all it was?"

"Yes! Because Alaric is the closest thing to a dad to me, Damon. He's been good to my mom. He's giving her what she deserves. He makes her happy. Makes _me _happy. I wasn't just gonna let him be killed. Klaus would've just jumped into someone else's body and he would've died for nothing. So, yes, I protected him." Elowen wet her lips. "Let me ask you this. If it had been Stefan, if Klaus had been in Stefan's body, would you still be questioning my motives?"

Damon clenched his jaw, but didn't say anything. Elowen continued.

"Would you still have been willing to let him die the way you were going to let Alaric die that night? Answer me, Damon!"

Still, he didn't say anything and Elowen closed both of her hands into tight fists. She was starting to get frustrated, angry. She felt her voice raising by itself.

"Goddamnit, answer me!"

"_No!_" Damon finally exploded. "No, because he's my little brother and I don't know what I would do without him! I love him and I would never say it to his face and sometimes I should, but I don't. Okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Yes, because now you know how I feel. Now you understand. I wasn't protecting Klaus that night. I was protecting Ric. You can think what you want. You can believe what you want. But you and I both know that's not the truth. Yes, maybe Marisol is fucking with my thoughts, but I know one thing she's not. I want Klaus dead. He's a threat to me and my family. And forgive me for admitting this, but I care about Elijah, and maybe that's just Marisol talking, but Elijah's the good guy here, Damon, whether you want to believe it or not.

"I get it, you hate me now. You want nothing to do with me just because I protected somebody I love and you didn't agree with it. Whatever. You're really good at casting people you supposedly love away. Katherine, Stefan, and now me. Eventually, Stefan is gonna get tired of your bullshit. You're gonna live the rest of your life alone, and it's going to be no one's fault but your own."

Elowen shook her head and started walking backwards towards the door. Damon tried taking a few steps towards her, but she turned around and left.

She was surprised to find both Stefan and Elijah waiting for her at the end of the hallway. She slowly came to a stop in front of them.

"Are you alright?" Elijah asked her. Elowen sighed.

"You heard everything?"

They both nodded. Vaguely, Elowen registered her mom's voice coming from downstairs, but she wasn't focused on that right now.

"I just… don't like to be treated like a liar. I'm not a liar. He's been saying horrible things about me behind my back, too. I know that."

Stefan reached forward and brushed some hair out of her face. "I want you to go somewhere with me. Take your mind off of things."

Elowen started to shake her head. "No, I can't. Toby-"

"Is safe with your brother, your aunt and your vampire best friend. He'll be okay. Please?"

Elowen sighed again. After a moment, she nodded. "Okay."

"I'll be back before nightfall," Elijah told them. "We'll proceed as planned."

Elowen nodded her head. "Okay. See you then."

Elijah bowed his head and left. Stefan grabbed onto her hand and pulled her downstairs.

"Come on."

"Wait." Elowen stopped. "I need to talk to Alaric. Wait for me outside, I'll be right out."

Stefan nodded and left her at the bottom of the stairs. Elowen walked back into the living room and towards Ric. He looked up from his spot on the couch when she stopped in front of him. Elena and Jenna were sitting across from him and Esmeralda.

"Can I talk to you?" She asked quietly. He glanced at Esmeralda, who nodded. He stood and followed Elowen outside of the room.

"What is it?" He questioned once they were alone. Elowen chewed on her lip as she figured out exactly what she wanted to say.

"I really thought you were gone and that broke my heart. It broke me because I thought mom was going to lose the one person in her life who treated her like a human being. You're so good to her and I'm so grateful, because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if she got hurt again. It broke me because…. Because you've become a father figure to me."

Alaric's eyebrows shot up in surprise and his eyes widened when she admitted this. She continued on as Ric was sent into a shocked silence. He didn't know what to say to that.

"Luis stopped being a dad to me the second he hit mom. I didn't realize it at the time because I didn't know that wasn't normal. That _was_ my normal until I started noticing whatever friends I had left weren't experiencing the same thing. He ruined me, ruined us, and you've been slowly helping us pick up the pieces. You were the thing we didn't know we were missing." Elowen took a deep breath as she mentally prepared herself to ask her next question. "Would you mind if I… can I…." She took another deep breath. "Is it alright if I start calling you dad?"

Alaric still wasn't sure what to say. Words had escaped him. He started stuttering out a response as he stared at Elowen's vulnerable eyes, expectant stare and fidgeting hands.

"U-Uh… I-I mean…" He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He was absolutely stunned. This wasn't something to take lightly. "... Are you sure?" He asked at last. "This is big stuff, kid. It isn't something that's fun and games. Are you _absolutely_ sure?"

Elowen nodded her head determinedly. "I'm sure. Almost losing you made me realize just how much I've come to care about you."

Alaric smiled lightly. "I've come to care about you a lot, too, kid. I love your mother very much, I want you to know that, even though you probably already do." They both laughed at this. "I'd do anything to protect you, her and your brother."

"So? Can I? I only will if you're comfortable with it."

"Well, I didn't think I'd be adopting a 17 year old at 33, that's for sure." They laughed again. Alaric suddenly turned serious. He placed both of his hands on either side of her shoulders. "I'd be honored for you to call me dad."

Elowen smiled and extended her arms to hug him. He hugged her back. "Thanks," she said into his chest, so her voice was muffled. She pulled back with a smirk. "... _Dad_."

"That's really gonna take some getting used to."

Elowen patted his shoulder. "You'll be fine. I've gotta get going. Stefan's got some sort of surprise planned."

"You're back on?" Alaric asked curiously. Truthfully, while Damon was a good drinking buddy, he much preferred Elowen with Stefan. He thought she was good for Damon, but Damon wasn't good for her. Case in point: how he'd been acting recently. Maybe it was the dad instincts in him kicking in already, but he only wanted what was best for her.

"As of an hour ago, yeah."

"And Damon?"

Elowen sighed and shook her head. "No. I think it's over between us, for good this time."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, me, too."

Elowen smiled sadly and took her leave. Alaric watched her go and then walked back into the living room. Esmeralda was looking at him with a questioning look on her face.

"What was that about?"

Alaric took his seat directly next to her again and grinned widely and giddily now that it was really starting to set in. "She asked me if she could call me dad."

Esmeralda, Jenna and Elena's mouths all dropped open in surprise. Elena was the one who collected herself first in order to speak.

"Well?" She asked expectantly. "What did you say?"

If it were possible, Alaric's grin got bigger. "Yes. I said yes."

Esmeralda finally caught up with what was happening and actually _squealed_ in excitement. She grabbed onto Ric's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"This is great! Oh, this is _wonderful_."

In her bout of absolute enthusiasm, she leaned over and peppered Alaric with kisses. Jenna laughed loudly and pretended to cover her eyes.

"Alright, alright, calm down. Enough. Seriously, though. Congratulations."

Esmeralda and Alaric couldn't stop smiling after that.

**xxxx**

Caroline had heard about what happened with Carol Lockwood and wanted to go pay her a visit. It took a lot of convincing with Josiah to let her come by herself.

"If we both leave, that just leaves Toby more vulnerable," she had told him. "I'll be right back, okay?" She had kissed him and then managed to make it out the front door.

That's how she found herself walking through the parking lot of Mystic Falls Hospital, and how she found herself coming face to face with Tyler Lockwood. She stopped dead in her tracks in shock.

"Tyler?"

A woman came from behind him and Caroline faltered slightly when she recognized her.

"Jules."

Jules looked between Caroline and Tyler. "I'll give you a few minutes."

"Thank you," Tyler said.

"Just a few, Tyler."

"I got it."

Jules walked off towards her car and left them alone. The air was tense and a little awkward as Caroline and Tyler stood there. Tyler spoke first.

"She's just making sure I'm safe."

"So, what, are you two, like, friends now?" Caroline asked, taking full offense that Tyler had ran off with the woman who caused her and her friends so much trouble and pain.

"She's been helping me. How are you?"

"Toby could've helped you. He would've made sure you were safe. And you just left him and your mom and ran off with Jules of all people. Did you forget what she did to me?"

Tyler looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry."

Caroline crossed her arms. "I heard about your mom. I just came to check in on her."

"What, without your love sick puppy boyfriend following your every move?"

"Excuse me?"

"Nevermind. Mom's banged up, but she'll be okay."

"... And you?" Caroline asked quietly after a moment. "How's everything with you?"

"I'm hanging in there."

"Good."

"Yeah. I should get going. Jules and I need to get on the road."

Caroline deflated a little bit. "You're leaving again?"

"I left for a reason, Caroline."

"Your explanation must have gotten lost in the mail, along with your goodbye. You just disappeared, Tyler. You could've at least said bye to Toby."

"He wasn't around when I left. He was at the lake house with Elena." Tyler shrugged. "I left a note."

"A note for your mom that didn't even mention Toby. He thinks it's his fault, y'know."

Tyler cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

Tyler started to move around her and Caroline reached out to stop him when she suddenly clutched her head and started screaming. Tyler looked down in confusion, but couldn't dwell on it for long, because he, too, started screaming in pain and went down. Maddox and Klaus's other witch, Greta, came out of hiding. Greta injected Caroline with vervain and sent her towards the ground.

Greta looked around to make sure nobody saw and then started to grab Caroline. "Let's go."

**xxxx**

Damon walked up to the bar at The Grill and ordered a drink. Alaric came up behind him and ordered the same thing.

"I screwed up," Damon said after a beat of silence. He glanced at Alaric. "I heard the news about you becoming a dad."

Alaric did his best to not break out into another smile. He still couldn't believe it. "Yeah. I heard about your fight with Elowen. You screwed up the second you doubted her."

"Yeah. I'm starting to realize that the hard way."

Someone came up beside them and Alaric and Damon didn't pay him much attention until he spoke directly to them.

"Gentlemen, why so glum?"

Alaric and Damon looked over at him and Damon immediately groaned.

"Ugh. Klaus, I presume."

Klaus smirked. "In the flesh." He looked at Alaric. "Thanks for the loner, mate."

Damon got up from his seat in annoyance. "Any reason you stopped by to say hi?"

"Just thought I'd remind you to not do anything you'll regret tonight. I've also been told you and your brother fancy the witch." His smirk widened when Damon's eyes set into a deep glare. "Ah, yes, you know the one. I think you already know what I plan on doing with her. I've heard you've already screwed up, so don't screw it up any further." Klaus made to leave, put a finger up as if something dawned on him, then turned back. "I want to make sure I'm being clear here. I have my vampire, I have my werewolf, I have everything I need. The ritual will happen tonight. So, if you want to live to see tomorrow, stay in your place."

Mild panic filled Damon's chest as Klaus left. He had a werewolf? Him and Toby may not have gotten along, but Elowen cared about him and he knew that if he died, she could be devastated, and that was enough for him to suddenly be worried about that damn mutt. He quickly shook Alaric's shoulder after Klaus left.

"Call Josiah and ask him about Toby. Make sure he's okay."

"I'm sure he's fine. If Klaus had him, we'd already know about it."

Damon's grip tightened on Alaric's shoulder enough to make him grimace uncomfortably. "I said, make sure the mutt is okay."

"Okay, okay, just let me go."

Damon released Alaric's shoulder and he rolled it back to bring some feeling back to it. He pulled out his phone and dialed Josiah's number. He picked up on the third ring.

"Is everything okay?" Josiah asked the second he answered. "Please tell me you guys are headed back to the house."

Alaric furrowed his eyebrows. That didn't sound good and certainly was not reassuring, considering what he was calling for. "Why? What's wrong?"

Damon was listening intently to the call. He made a motion to keep the conversation going and Alaric waved him off.

"Caroline left to go check on Mrs. Lockwood at the hospital. She got in some kind of accident, but now we're one person down with Toby. She was supposed to be back by now. I'm getting kind of worried."

"Your mom is on her way now. She should be back any second. As for Caroline… have you tried calling her?"

"Of course I have!" Josiah took a deep breath. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. It's just, y'know, Klaus needs a vampire to sacrifice and it could be any of them. Caroline, Stefan…. Damon," he added at the end. "I shouldn't have let her go. I should've gone with her."

"Hey, let's just take a minute and calm down, alright? I'm sure she's fine. How's Toby?"

"He's fine. We're clearing out the attic so he has a place to turn tonight. We're gonna spell the room so he can't get out and soundproof it so our neighbors don't freak out. Look, are you sure that I shouldn't worry about Caroline? I mean, where's Stefan and Damon?"

"Damon's sitting right next to me and Stefan is with your sister. I'm sure he's safe with her."

"But, Caroline's still unaccounted for. Look, I'm just gonna go and try and find her-"

"No, no, stay there with Toby, okay? Keeping him safe is our top priority right now. Damon and I will look for Caroline. I'll call you when we find her."

"Okay. Oh, mom's home. I think that's my cue."

"Alright, talk to you later, bud."

"Yeah."

Alaric hung up and Damon couldn't help the amused look that crossed his face. Ric looked at him and then innocently furrowed his eyebrows.

"What?"

"'Bud'? You're calling him _bud_? You must really want this father role, don't you?"

"Oh, ha, ha, very funny. Let's just find Caroline, okay?"

"Whatever you say, _dad_."

"Shut it."

**xxxx**

**Author's Note:** okay, usually I'd wait a little longer to update, but there were some reviews I got last chapter that for some reason didn't post, so I couldn't reply to them privately. I wanted to address them real quick.

**animelover78861**: technically, Elowen didn't cheat on Stefan since they were broken up when she kissed Toby! And Stefan was never cheated on in the show either as far as I can remember, Elena just slept with Damon immediately after their breakup (which was something I personally never agreed with).

**silentmayhem**: Elowen isn't stringing Toby along at all, she was just trying to help him figure some things out as he is her best friend and she cares about him. The only time she ever maybe "led him on" was when they were dating, but as it was said before, they only dated due to peer pressure, not because they mutually liked each other, and Elowen also had no idea how he felt back then. She isn't stringing Stefan and Damon along either. They all talked out the trio relationship like adults and decided it was something they wanted to do, and they were all very honest about it. In this story arc, they just disagreed on a lot of things and were in the middle of a big argument/fight that led to what happened. I never wanted them to have this picture perfect relationship because I knew it was unrealistic, and that they were never going to all agree on the same things during the different events of the show. Stefan, Damon and Elowen are all very different people with very different ideals. They have many more disagreements as the story progresses, so this isn't the last.

Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter because that helps motivate me to continue writing and lets me know that people enjoy this story! I hope you review this chapter as well and that you liked it :)


	39. Chapter 39

Stefan was leading Elowen through the woods somewhere a little ways outside of town. He refused to tell her where they were going and at this point, she'd just given up.

"Please tell me we're almost there," She whined. "Because unlike you, I'm human, which means my legs get tired."

Stefan laughed. "Okay, we'll stop and take a break."

Elowen sighed in relief. "You didn't think to bring water, did you?"

Stefan sheepishly shook his head. "Sorry, no."

"You're a terrible boyfriend."

"Hey! I didn't exactly plan this. It was supposed to be spontaneous and romantic."

Elowen rolled her eyes and continued her trek. "Next time, plan ahead."

They came to a clearing that revealed a waterfall on the side of the mountain. Elowen stopped in wonder to admire it.

"Wow… this is beautiful."

Stefan stopped behind her with a smile on his face. "Am I still a terrible boyfriend?"

"Yes."

Elowen giggled at Stefan's face of defeat, but gradually, her giggles stopped and the smile slipped off of her face. Stefan furrowed his eyebrows and cupped her cheek in his hand.

"Hey, what's wrong? You can talk to me."

Elowen sighed. "I know you took me here so I wouldn't think of Damon, but…"

"But?"

"It's just… not fair. He's been waiting so patiently for me to love him back, and when I finally do, he's already cast me to the side like I'm nothing. Was I just his most recent plaything? Did I mean nothing to him?"

"No, you meant everything to him. It's still hard for me to admit that my brother is in love with my girlfriend and that I don't have you all to myself, but I know one thing's for sure: he loves you in a way he never loved Katherine. He makes mistakes sometimes, big ones, and I think that sooner or later, he'll realize he's making a giant one."

Elowen went silent. Then, she opened her mouth. "I'm being unfair to you both, making you share me the way I have. You two deserve someone who's loyal to you, and-"

"Don't talk like that. It was my idea in the first place, remember? I don't think I'll ever really get used to this no matter how normal it seems at this stage, and yeah, hearing that you're in love with my brother hurts a bit, but it's what makes you happy, and I'm willing to sacrifice monogamy in order for you to be happy."

"Yeah, but with your brother of all people? That makes me look like one of the shittiest people on earth."

"Stop talking like that. I will never force you to choose, no matter how much I wish you would, because your happiness is important to me."

"At the expense of yours? Look, I love you, you know that, but you deserve to be happy, too."

"And I am, because no matter which way you look at it, I have you. As long as I have you, I am the happiest man on the planet, okay? This trip is about you, and it's a long way to the top. I want you to make the most of it."

Elowen looked back up at the waterfall. "You mean we're climbing all the way up there?"

Stefan nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"Can't you just, I don't know, do one of your superpower vampire jumpy things?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Stefan moved his hand from her cheek to her fingers. "Come on. Let's go."

**xxxx**

Katherine was looking in the fridge for a blood bag. She was hungry, but every single one she found was empty. She huffed as she tossed yet another empty bag on the ground. The sound of the lock clicking at the front door sounded throughout the apartment and she curiously stood up and walked over. Alaric was standing on the other side.

Katherine crossed her arms. "Look who's dumb enough to come back."

"Well, somebody had to invite him in," Alaric replied. "Damon, would you like to, uh, come in?"

Damon appeared at the doorway and stepped inside.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" Katherine hissed. Instead of answering her, he rushed at her and slammed her against the wall.

"I gave you vervain, now I'm here to collect." He called over his shoulder. "I got it from here, Ric."

"You sure?" He asked.

"Yeah, only one of us needs to get blamed for this and I sort of need a redemption arc. Get back to the house, help Esmeralda with Toby. She's gonna need it."

Alaric nodded. "Okay."

"Get blamed for what?" Katherine asked suspiciously once he was gone.

"Vampire Barbie is missing and I have a hunch she's the vampire Klaus is planning on using in the sacrifice, so I kind of need to know where she's being kept."

"No. You can't interfere, Damon. Klaus will kill you and everyone you've ever met."

"Pfft. Vampires come by the dozen. He can just pluck somebody off of the street if he wanted. Now, where is she?"

Katherine stubbornly stayed quiet. An idea struck Damon and he decided to put it to good use.

"What if I told you Elena had vampire blood in her system?"

Katherine's wide widened. "What?!"

Damon simply raised an eyebrow. Katherine scowled at him.

"The tomb," she told him at last. "He's keeping her in the tomb."

Damon gave a sarcastic smile. "Thank you."

Then, he left.

**xxxx**

Elowen and Stefan were still climbing to the top of the hill. She hadn't been talking much, instead keeping to her thoughts. Stefan let her be.

"What's the best part about being a vampire?" She asked suddenly. Stefan stopped his walk in surprise. He stared at her for a moment before continuing on his way.

"You feel like you could do anything. Be anyone. Beautiful things are more beautiful. Everything's heightened. You just live more intensely, love more powerfully."

"And the worst?"

"Ah, you know the worst."

"No, aside from the bloodlust."

Stefan stopped again and turned to fully face her. "Anger becomes rage. When you're sad, you're in despair. Grief. Loss. It can cripple you. That's why so many of us turn our emotions off. It just becomes… too overwhelming. Y'know, for awhile, for me, the good just wasn't worth the bad."

"How long before you learned to handle both?"

"Well, I'm still trying. Everyday. What else?"

Elowen stayed quiet and then walked passed him without another word. Stefan sighed, but followed behind her.

**xxxx**

Damon was walking through the woods in the direction of the tomb. He was just outside the stairs when Maddox appeared from behind the trees.

"Which one are you trying to save?" He asked. "The blonde, or the wolf? Did you really think Klaus would leave them unprotected?"

Damon shrugged. "Wishful thinking."

Damon ran at Maddox and pinned him to the ground. He wrapped his hands around his neck and started to strangle him, but Maddox used his powers to throw Damon a few feet away. Once he was down, Maddox started to cast the spell Elowen loved to use so much and gave Damon a headache. He screamed and tried to fight through the pain back towards Maddox, but it was no use. Out of nowhere, a gunshot sounded and Maddox fell to the ground. Damon looked up and saw Matt Donovan of all people, standing there with a rifle. Not sparing him a second glance, as that wasn't the task at hand, Damon sped over and snapped Maddox's neck. Finally, he acknowledged Matt.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

"Where's Caroline?" He demanded instead.

"Listen, man, not a good time to play the hero. That spot's already been taken."

Matt cocked the rifle and pointed it at Damon, who put his hands up in surrender.

"I'm serious. I'm just here to rescue her. Leave."

When Matt didn't make a move, Damon rushed over and hit him with the butt of the rifle, sending Matt to the ground, unconscious. He picked up the rifle and dumped the bullets out.

"You're lucky I'm trying to be the good guy or else you'd be dead."

He realized the bullets were wooden and crouched down to pick one up. He cast one last glance at Matt before he tossed the bullet back on the ground and headed for the steps.

"Damon?" Caroline questioned when he entered the tomb.

"Your boyfriend is worried sick. Try not to freak him out when there's an Original vampire on the loose, would you?" He walked over to Caroline and grabbed onto the chains that were bolted to the wall. "Oh, by the way, your buddy Matt is outside with a rifle loaded with wooden bullets. You have some explaining to do."

"Matt knows about you?" Tyler asked. Caroline was shaking her head before the question was finished.

"No-"

"Shh," Damon shushed. "Tomorrow's problem." He yanked on the chains and broke them. Caroline got up as Damon was already headed for the exit. "Let me just get you out of here."

"Wait, Damon, no!" She gestured to Tyler. "I'm not leaving without him."

"Ohh," Damon groaned. "It's getting dark soon." He looked at Tyler. "How fast can you get the hell away from here?"

"I need to get to my family's cellar," Tyler replied. "I can lock myself up."

"I'll help," Caroline quickly offered. Damon sighed and walked over to Tyler.

"Don't make me regret this."

He broke Tyler chains and helped him to his feet.

"Now, let's get out of here."

**xxxx**

"God, we made it!" Elowen breathed once her and Stefan made it to the top of the mountain.

"That's nothing if you've climbed Mt. Everest."

"Nobody likes a bragger, Stefan."

Elowen looked out at the view and took it in. Stefan came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Wow…" She breathed in amazement.

They sat like that for a few minutes before she felt Stefan deeply sigh against her. She looked up at him over her shoulder.

"What is it?"

"You can say it."

"Say what?"

"Whatever it is that you've been thinking about the whole way up here."

Elowen looked away and back out at the view. "I was thinking about how we were talking about making each other happy, and I know the thought has crossed your mind, and probably Damon's, too, but… what if I did it? What if I bit the bullet and became a vampire?"

Stefan immediately let go of her to turn her around. His face was serious and Elowen was having trouble reading him.

"No-"

"No? But, that's what you want, isn't it?"

"Let me finish. You've already made it clear that you don't want to be a vampire, Elowen. You're happy being human, being a witch. It makes you feel alive. You'd be miserable if you gave that all up just for me and Damon. Yeah, I'll admit it, I've thought about it a hundred times, and if it were my choice, I'd want to be with you forever, but that's not what you want. The last thing I want is for you to force yourself to become someone you don't want to be." He gently took her hands into his. "I already said that as long as you're happy, I'm happy, and as long as I have you, I couldn't ask for anything else. Besides, what about Evelyn and Claire?"

Elowen smiled softly. "You remembered."

"Of course I did, because that's something that's important to you. Having kids, starting a family, that's something you want. Your future, our lives together, those are things you deal with as they come along. You have a lifetime of those choices. You're supposed to grow up, Elle. Your life is just beginning, and there's no way I'm taking that away from you."

Elowen felt tears beginning to pool around her eyes and Stefan embraced her as she started to cry.

"Thank you for always respecting me and my wishes," she said through her sobbing. "I love you so much."

Stefan quietly shushed her and rubbed his hands down her back. "You're welcome. I love you, too."

**xxxx**

Alaric had come and picked up Elena from the boarding house and brought her to Elowen's house. That's where everyone had moved to and he felt a lot more comfortable knowing she was surrounded by people and not by herself with Jenna, even if it was in a house Klaus wasn't invited into. Speaking of Jenna, Elena was currently on the phone trying to get ahold of her.

"She's not answering. She was right behind us when we left, wasn't she?"

"I'm sure she's fine," Alaric reassured. "Talking when you're driving is dangerous, remember?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." She glanced upstairs. "How's Toby?"

Alaric look behind his shoulder. "Esmeralda said the transformation has started. They spelled the room to make it soundproof, so we won't hear anything. It's probably best that way."

"And he won't be able to get out, right?"

"Right. It's like the tomb spell, except this time, it's to prevent werewolves from leaving."

Esmeralda came downstairs and sighed loudly. "He's fully turned. Give it a few hours and he'll be back to normal."

Josiah was pacing around in the other room, while Eliana and Sydney were sitting in the kitchen with Binx. Josiah stopped and came into the foyer where Alaric, Elena and Esmeralda were.

"Where's Caroline?" He asked Ric. "You said Damon was on it."

"And he is. Klaus probably had Caroline guarded. He'll be here any second."

"Can't you just call him? Call him."

Alaric gave in almost immediately. Josiah looked worried out of his mind and seeing him so antsy and on edge was killing him. He pulled out his phone and dialed Damon's number.

"Bad time, dude," Damon said once he answered the phone.

"Sorry, Jo's just, y'know, casually freaking out in the living room. Please tell me you got Caroline."

"Of course I did. See?"

There was a beat of silence before Caroline's voice rang through the line.

"Tell Josiah that I'm okay!"

"I will. See you back at Elowen's?"

"Roger that."

Alaric hung up and nodded at Josiah. He let out a huge sigh of relief and felt like a weight was lifted off of his chest.

"Thank god," he mumbled under his breath.

Outside, Stefan pulled up to the house and walked around the car to open the door for Elowen.

"Thanks for today," she told him as she got out. Stefan sensed something, quickly pushed Elowen behind him and turned around. Klaus was standing there. Elowen's whole body tensed and went slack at the same time at the sight of him. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened.

"It was you…" she whispered. Stefan turned to look at her in confusion. "It was you the whole time… _You're_ Nik."

Stefan turned back to Klaus as it clicked in his head. "You mean…? _He's_ the one you kept seeing? It was Klaus all along?"

Klaus was standing there in silence as he tried to figure out what was going on. How did she know to call him Nik? And what did Stefan mean by 'he's the one you kept seeing'? He was missing something, and it felt like it was something big.

Elowen swayed on her feet and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Stefan caught her as she went backward and helped her stay upright. When her eyes went back to normal, she pushed Stefan's hands off of her.

"Who are you?" Came the heavily accented voice of Marisol. "You were there that night Elijah was killed. You said you were friends of Kol's. That was a lie." She turned and saw Klaus standing there and made a beeline for him. "Nik! You're back in your body!"

She tried to hug him, but he deflected her. She frowned. He hadn't done that since she was little.

"Is something wrong?" She asked. "Is it because I'm not me? Elijah told me that this isn't my body, that I've been reborn into somebody named Elowen. Is it true?"

"We think so," Stefan answered instead. Marisol turned around to stare at him. "We haven't found a proper source that says so, but it makes sense. You look alike and you share the same power. She's your descendent, and she sees your memories sometimes. You're apart of her somehow."

Ah, so that's how Elowen knew to call him Nik. She had glimpses of Marisol's life. Marisol kept her eyes trained on Stefan for a long moment.

"You. What's your name?"

"Stefan," he answered patiently. "Stefan Salvatore."

"Stefan," Marisol repeated. "What is your relationship to this Elowen girl?"

"I'm her boyfriend."

Marisol suddenly turned wistful. "Oh. I never had one of those. I wasn't allowed."

"How come?"

"I was supposed to die." She shrugged. "It was useless."

"Then who was Kol?"

Marisol paused as if this thought had never occurred to her. "Kol wasn't… No…" Her eyebrows furrowed. The front door opened and out came Elena, Esmeralda and Alaric. When Marisol saw Elena, she froze.

"Who is she?" She asked Stefan. "And why do we look similar?"

It was Stefan's turn to furrow his eyebrows. "You mean you don't know?" He looked at Klaus. "You never told her?"

"Told me what?" She looked between Stefan and Klaus. "Told me what?"

"... You were just the replacement." It actually kind of hurt Stefan to be the one to break the news. She really had no idea. "You weren't the true doppelganger it took to break the curse. That's why it didn't work."

"Doppelganger? What's a doppelganger?" She set her eyes on Klaus. "Nik, what is he talking about?"

Klaus stayed deadly quiet. If he showed any sign of weakness in front of any of them, they'd know to use Marisol against him. Damn himself for letting this girl weasel her way into his life.

"Nik? Nik, what's going… on…" Marisol's voice trailed off and went weak as she started to topple over. Once again, Stefan swiftly caught her and helped her back up. Elowen blinked as she came back to the present.

"What happened? Where am I?"

"You're at your house," Stefan replied. "It happened again."

Elowen rubbed her hands down her face and glanced back up at Klaus. "Well? Are you just going to stand there?"

Klaus reached out hand out towards Elowen and one towards Elena. "Shall we?"

Elena stepped forward without hesitation and grabbed onto Klaus's hand. Elowen simply stared at Klaus's other hand. Stefan had taken hold of her arm and pushed her behind him again. Esmeralda had tried to go over to help shield her daughter, but Alaric quickly grabbed hold of her and kept her back. Stefan had her, he knew that, and there was no need for Esmeralda to put herself in danger.

"I'm not waiting all night, love," Klaus told Elowen. "You already knew this was coming."

Slowly, Elowen moved out from behind Stefan and started towards Klaus. Stefan hooked his hand around her wrist and tried to stop her. Even Esmeralda managed to get a few steps forward before Alaric caught up with her.

"You're not taking her," Esmeralda said fiercely. "Take me instead. Take me."

"What?" Alaric questioned from beside her. "No!"

Klaus smiled tauntingly and Esmeralda wanted nothing more than to smack it off of his face. "Sorry, love, but I've already made up my mind." He looked back to Elowen. "Come along. There's no reason for the rest of your family to die."

Elowen pulled her wrist from Stefan's grip. She turned around to face him. "It's fine. It's fine, I'll go. No one needs to get hurt." She glanced at Esmeralda and Alaric. "None of you need to get hurt." She got on her tip toes and kissed Stefan. Then, she walked over to hug Esmeralda and Alaric. Esmeralda was crying.

"Honey, please don't do this," she begged her daughter. "We'll figure something out, okay? Don't go."

"I have to, mom. He'll hurt you if I don't."

Elowen backed away towards Klaus. She grabbed hold of his still outstretched hand and took one last glance at Stefan, Esmeralda and Alaric. She tried to smile at them.

"I love you guys. Don't forget that. Close your eyes."

Stefan closed his first, followed by Alaric. Esmeralda sniffled and sobbed loudly, but did as she was asked. When they opened them, Klaus, Elena and Elowen were gone.

**xxxx**

Damon burst into Alaric's apartment. Stefan had called him and told him Klaus took Elowen and a newfound sense of anger washed over him.

"I wasn't aware you'd been invited in," Klaus said as he turned around.

"I've come here to tell you to let my girlfriend go. You can do whatever you want with Elena, I don't care. Just give me Elowen back."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, mate. Her bloodline is my right. I don't take promises lightly, even if it wasn't made by her directly. You should be lucky I'm not punishing her for what her ancestors did."

"What if I told you I rescued your werewolf and vampire and killed your witch?"

Klaus's face turned dark and threatening as he stood from his seat. "Excuse me?"

"And you can kill me for it. I don't care. It was all me."

"Katerina, give us a moment."

Katherine looked at them for a moment before leaving the room. Klaus approached Damon.

"I've heard about you. The crazy, impulsive vampire, battling his brother for the affection of the same girl. I knew one of you would try to stop me. It was just a 50/50 guess on who." Klaus picked up his phone, where a livestream of Jules's transformation was playing on the screen. "The nice thing about werewolves is that they tend to travel in packs. The other one, Toby, was it? Was too heavily guarded. It would've been too much trouble. Need a closer look?"

Klaus tossed the phone over to Damon, who caught it.

"Jules," Damon mumbled to himself when he took a look at the screen.

"When you spend a thousand years trying to break a curse… you learn a thing or two. First rule, always have a backup. Backup werewolf. Backup witch."

"Backup vampire," Damon finished.

"I've got that covered, too."

Klaus rushed at Damon before he could react and the next second, he saw black.

**xxxx**

"Where are we going?" Elena asked the witch Klaus had handed her and Elowen off to.

"This way," she told them without answering Elena's question.

"She's Luka's sister, Greta," Elowen replied for her. "Him and your father were looking for you, y'know."

"Well, they were wasting their time. I wasn't lost."

Elena tripped in the darkness and Elowen crouched down to help her back to her feet.

"God, I can't see anything," Elena complained as she stood back up. Fire suddenly sprouted from all around them, illuminating their surroundings. There was a figure lying on the ground a few feet in front of them. Elena immediately recognized her and ran forward.

"Jenna?" She started to frantically shake her. "Jenna! Jenna! Hey, Jenna!"

Elowen had made her way over, dropped to one knee and felt for her pulse. There was none. She shook her head at Elena.

"Oh my god, no! Jenna! No!" Elena looked up at Greta, who was standing over them. "He killed her? Why? I did everything he asked."

Jenna abruptly sat up with a loud gasp. Greta smiled down at them.

"She's not dead. She's in transition."


	40. Chapter 40

Jenna sat on the ground, clutching her head.

"Oh, my head," she moaned. "What's wrong with me?"

"Do you remember what happened?" Elena asked.

"You called me after I thought you left with Ric. You were so scared. I should've realized it wasn't you. The second I walked out of the house, someone grabbed me. A vampire."

"Klaus. It was Klaus."

"He made me drink his blood, and I don't… I don't remember anything after that." She looked around. "Where are we? What happened?"

Elena took Jenna's hands in her own. "We're at the quarry. He brought us here."

"Why don't I remember anything?"

"Jenna, do you remember when I told you how someone becomes a vampire?"

Jenna nodded. "Yeah, if you die with vampire blood in your system, it…" She trailed off and realization started to dawn on her. "Oh, god, he killed me."

"Jenna, listen to me, everything's going to be okay. I'm going to get you out of here."

Jenna wasn't paying attention. "I'm a vampire?"

"Not yet," Elowen finally spoke. "You need to drink human blood to complete the transition."

"And if I don't?"

"You die."

"I bet you're hungry," Greta said as she walked towards them. Elena glanced down at the sharp rock that was nearby, tried to make a grab for it, but was flung backwards by Greta. She waved her hand and created a circle of fire around Elena. Elowen barely had time to scramble out of its way.

"Don't bother trying to get through," Greta told Elena and Jenna. "I spelled the circle. You're trapped, no matter what you do."

"Greta, please, just- just let her go," Elena begged. Greta ignored her, picked up the sharp rock Elena had dove for and sliced her wrist open. The smell must've been enough for Jenna, because she eyed it hungrily.

"Klaus chose her."

"No."

Greta lowered her wrist towards Jenna. "Drink it."

"Jenna, don't!"

"I can't," Jenna mumbled as she stared at Greta's wrist.

"Let her go!" Elena cried.

Jenna stared at Greta's wrist for a moment longer before finally sinking her teeth in. She closed her eyes in ecstasy as the taste of blood flooded into her mouth. Greta yanked her wrist away after a short while and let Jenna fall to the ground. Then, with another flick of her wrist, a ring of fire circled Jenna. Elowen stepped farther back and away from it.

"Why not trap me, too?" She asked in confusion.

"Klaus said you wouldn't try to run, and if you did try, I have permission to subdue you," Greta explained.

She walked away and as she did, Jenna grabbed onto her head and screamed.

"God, my head feels like it's splitting open. It's… Damon. He… he hurt me. Used me. Abused me. I remember now." She looked at Elowen. "How could you let him? How can you be with him after what he did to me? How?"

Elowen shook her head. "He's not that person anymore, Jenna. He's not."

"Hey, look at me," Elena said to Jenna. "Don't think about that right now. It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay."

Jenna looked back at Elena and slowly shook her head. "No. No it's not."

**xxxx**

Jeremy and Bonnie had grimoires surrounding them as they sat in the basement of the witch house. They were still trying to find ways to save Elena despite Elijah having the elixir. Jeremy furrowed his eyes as he found a specific entry.

"Listen to this. 'If a witch dies a painful, excruciating, unjust death, sometimes his or her soul cannot be put to rest. It will continue to search for a host to latch onto until it can live again, in the shape or form of its former life'. Didn't Damon say he thought Elowen was Marisol reborn?"

Bonnie looked over Jeremy's shoulder. "Yeah…" She grabbed onto the grimoire to get a closer look. "Yeah, he did." She read the rest of the page and her eyes slowly widened. "'Once the soul(s) finds a host, it will begin to take over its body until they are one with their past selves'. That explains why Marisol has been appearing. Elowen is _becoming_ Marisol." She started flipping through the pages. "There has to be a way to stop that from happening."

"Hey, hey," Jeremy gently muttered into Bonnie's ear. "We'll find something. Right now, our focus is on Elena, okay? We'll come back to this, I promise."

Bonnie stopped thumbing through the grimoire and nodded. "Okay. Okay. Let's keep looking."

**xxxx**

"How are you feeling?" Elena asked Jenna. She was pacing around her circle of fire. Jenna was sitting down in hers.

"I feel like myself, only not. Everything is brighter. The fire's hotter. Part of me is terrified, but there's another part of me that doesn't want to feel anything."

"Vampires can turn off the part that's human. That's the part that hurts."

Jenna's eyes filled with unshed tears. "I'm gonna die, aren't I?"

"No! Jenna, I'm not going to let that happen. I don't care what I have to do."

In the distance, there was the sound of twigs snapping, followed by somebody groaning in pain.

"Who's that?" Jenna asked.

"It must be the werewolf," Elowen replied. "Klaus didn't try to take Toby when he came to get us, so he must've found someone else."

Greta came into view with Jules. She pushed her down to the ground, next to Elena and Jenna.

"What's happening to me?" Jules asked through the pain.

"I cast a spell to slow down your transformation," Greta informed her. "Your insides are trying to tear themselves free." She waved her hand and yet another circle of fire closed around Jules.

"Greta, witches are supposed to maintain the balance of nature," Elena told her. "It's your duty to them to keep this curse sealed."

"My duty is to Klaus! The new order."

"Glad to know I still have a dance partner," came Klaus's voice as he arrived at the scene. Elowen immediately went to him.

"I can get you a replacement vampire," she blurted quickly. "If you just let me find him, I can get him to you before the night is up."

Klaus chuckled. "Aw, look at you, trying to play the hero. Sorry, love. The ritual will go on as planned."

Any sign of begging or pleading left Elowen's eyes as her hand darted out to tightly grasp Klaus's arm. "I'm not taking no for an answer."

Klaus looked amused. "Oh? And who might this replacement vampire be?"

"My father."

Klaus quirked an eyebrow. "You're willing to just hand your own father over to die? I didn't peg you the type."

"You'd kill your father the first chance you got, wouldn't you?" Elowen challenged, causing Klaus's face to drop into a deadly scowl.

"Watch it, love. You're treading on thin ice."

"Let me find him."

"And if I say no?"

Behind her, Greta started choking. She grabbed onto her neck with both hands and fell to her knees. Klaus looked back at her and flared his nostrils in anger.

"Stop it," he demanded, but Elowen didn't let up. Her nose started to bleed for tapping into the dead witch's power, but she didn't care. She needed to get her point across. Greta began foaming at the mouth and blood gurgled down her chin as she continued to gasp for air.

"I said stop it!" Klaus bellowed, but Elowen didn't do as he asked. Greta finally fell face first into the ground, dead. She had been bleeding from her eyes and ears and an unknown fluid was mixing in with the blood from her mouth. It was a possibility that it was her stomach acid.

When it was all said and done, Elowen wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "You're a witch down, Klaus. Who's going to do the ritual now?"

Klaus's hand shot out and grabbed onto Elowen's throat. Instead of struggling, she smirked. She had him just where she wanted.

"You wouldn't kill me, now, would you?" She wheezed out. "I'm the only one left to do the sacrifice."

Klaus released her instantly upon hearing this. Maddox was dead, Greta was dead, which meant that without Elowen, he'd have to wait another month to find someone to do the stupid spell. He clenched his jaw. Elowen coughed slightly, but kept her front up.

"I'll only do it under one condition. Let me find my father. Use him in place of Jenna. If not, you can kiss the ritual goodbye."

Klaus glared down at her for a moment. "You have one hour. If you're not back before the time is up, heads will roll. Do you understand me?"

Elowen nodded, then walked passed Klaus and towards the way of the boarding house. It was much closer than her place, and she knew she'd reach it faster if she called Stefan, except something told her to call Damon, so she did. She wasn't sure he'd even answer after their fight earlier in the morning, so she was surprised when the line went through.

"Wen? Where are you?" He asked quickly. "Stefan told me Klaus took you, too."

"I'm at the quarry. I need you to come get me and fast. I've bought Jenna some time, but I've only got an hour."

"I'm on my way."

**xxxx**

Elowen burst through the door of the boarding house, followed closely by Damon. She barely acknowledged that John was there and went into the library.

"Find me a map of Mystic Falls," she demanded. "Now."

Damon rushed past her towards the shelf that had maps on it and quickly grabbed the one of Mystic Falls. He spread it out on the table while Elowen picked up a letter opener that was setting on another table. He watched her with furrowed eyebrows as she stabbed herself in the hand and let her blood fall onto the map.

"What are you doing?" He asked in confusion.

"A locator spell," Elowen replied. "Be quiet."

Damon did as he was told as she started to mutter a spell under her breath. Slowly, her drops of blood started to move across the map until it came to a stop. She looked down at the location and then started heading back for the door. Damon went after her.

"I'm coming with you."

Elowen shook her head. "No. This is something I need to do by myself. Go meet up with Stefan. Take John with you."

Damon nodded, deciding not to fight with her now that more than just Elena's life was at stake.

"Wait," he stopped her before she could leave. "You need a car." He swiftly grabbed his car keys from the table and tossed them to her. She caught them easily with one hand and continued on her way. He watched her exit the way she came and stood next to John in the living room.

"You heard her," Damon told him. "Let's go."

**xxxx**

Jeremy sighed in defeat and threw the grimoire in his hands on the ground. "There's nothing here. All we've got is the spell Toby found about binding someone's life force with Elena's and killing them in the process. This is useless."

"Hey." Bonnie gently took hold of Jeremy's hand. "We'll find something."

The sound of a door creaking sounded throughout the house and Bonnie looked up.

"Somebody is here."

Alaric came walking down the stairs to the basement. He stopped a few feet away from Bonnie and Jeremy. "Elijah and Stefan are upstairs. You mind if I have a second with Jeremy?"

Bonnie nodded. "Sure, yeah. Of course."

Bonnie got up and left the basement to meet with Stefan and Elijah. Jeremy stood up as well with furrowed eyebrows.

"What's the matter?"

"Jeremy… something's happened to Jenna."

Outside, Bonnie was looking at Stefan and Elijah with wide eyes.

"Why did he take Jenna?"

"A punishment for meddling," Elijah answered calmly.

"Klaus was going to use Tyler and Caroline, but Damon rescued them," Stefan explained.

"Then we need to go now," Bonnie said. "Before Jenna's been sacrificed. I can kill Klaus myself."

"Bonnie, if you use that much power, you'll be dead. We've already been through this. It's not an option."

"Neither is letting Jenna die!"

"Well, Stefan would agree with you," Elijah told her. Bonnie looked confused. Stefan stepped closer to her.

"We're going to offer another vampire. One that he'll want more. Me."

**xxxx**

Klaus was pacing back and forth in the distance. Jules gave the occasional scream of pain and rolled over onto her side. Jenna's eyes were glistening with unshed tears.

"The day that the lawyers called me to tell me that I was going to become your guardian, you know what my first thought was?" Jenna was telling Elena, who shook her head. "Isn't there someone else you can do this?"

"Jenna, there was no one else who could have gotten me and Jeremy through all of that," Elena said.

"It's just the thought that I almost passed up taking care of you."

"But, you didn't." Elena knelt down to Jenna's level. "You put your entire life on hold to help us."

"Look around, Elena. I failed you."

"No, you didn't. _I_ failed _you_. I'm so sorry. Listen, being a vampire, it intensifies your guilt, but it also makes you stronger and faster. You can fight back. I'm gonna get through this, I'll be okay. I need you to believe that. Promise me, when you get the chance," Elena put a finger to her lips and lowered her voice, "run."

Jenna nodded her head and whispered back. "Okay."

**xxxx**

Elowen pulled up to an abandoned house that was somewhere in town. She got out of the car and carefully made her way up the steps and into the house. It was eerily quiet as she stepped farther into the foyer and she was looking around at her surroundings, her guard up as she searched for Luis. A laugh suddenly echoed from somewhere she couldn't pinpoint.

"I didn't realize you were this stupid," Luis taunted from the shadows. The smell in the house was starting to make Elowen's nose twitch. There was no doubt that there was probably dead bodies piled up somewhere. "Not only did you come alone, you came unarmed."

"A witch is never unarmed," Elowen called out, her voice bouncing off of the walls. "Haven't you learned that lesson already?"

Luis didn't say anything and it made Elowen feel uneasy. She had made it into the living room now. He was slowly circling around her like a predator would do with its prey. He decided to strike her from behind. He sped at her, but before he could reach her, a force field suddenly erected itself and sent him flying through the wall. She turned around just as he pulled himself back up to his feet.

"What the fuck was that?" He snarled at her. Elowen didn't answer. He tried rushing at her again, but Elowen made herself go invisible. He stopped halfway and wildly looked around for her. "Where did you go, you little bitch? You can't hide forever!"

"I'm right here."

Luis whirled around to find Elowen directly behind him. She raised her hand and used her newfound telekinesis to keep him frozen in his spot. He struggled against the unseen force and growled at her.

"Let me go. You'll be sorry if you don't."

Elowen tilted her head. "Hmm, no." She closed her fist and with a sickening snap, Luis's neck broke and he fell limp. Elowen released her hold on him and he crumpled to the ground. She once again used her telekinesis and lifted him into the air. She tapped onto his shoulder and turned him invisible so nobody would see a floating body and then walked back towards the door, aware that his dead body was following her.

She found his arm and pushed him into the backseat, then walked around towards the driver's seat and started up the car. Time to head back to the quarry.

**xxxx**

"He did _what_?!"

Alaric had just told Damon that Stefan had gone to offer himself as a replacement to Klaus. They were standing outside of the witch house while John had gone inside.

"He wasn't just going to let Jenna die."

"Damn it, Stefan!" He suddenly remembered Elowen barreling through the boarding house on a mission and her saying that she'd bought Jenna some time. "Elowen, she said she had an hour to do something, but she didn't say what. I should've asked. What if she was already looking for somebody to take Jenna's place?"

Alaric's eyes widened slightly. "What?" He quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket and tried Stefan's phone. He didn't pick up. Damon heard the automated voicemail play and punched a nearby wall. He stumbled back slightly and Alaric furrowed his eyebrows.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Damon withdrew his hand. "Well, that's my brother for you. Always cleaning up my messes."

**xxxx**

Klaus approached the ring of fire containing Jenna.

"Hello, Jenna."

Both Jenna and Elena stood up from their spots on the ground.

"Let her go, please," Elena begged. "I understand that I have to die, but she doesn't!" She tried walking closer to the flames of her circle, but they flared up. She retreated backwards.

"Careful," Klaus warned.

"Please, Elowen is on her way with the replacement. Just let her go."

"I'm afraid I can't do that until your friend delivers. How else can I be sure she'll uphold her side of the deal?" Klaus heard a noise and lifted his head. "Well, well." He looked up at the top of the quarry. "I don't recall you being on the guest list."

Elena and Jenna looked up as well and spotted Stefan. Elena gasped at the sight of him.

"I'm here to talk," Stefan said to Klaus.

"Very well." Klaus sped up to the cliff Stefan was on. "What can I do for you, Mr. Salvatore?"

**xxxx**

"What have you found?" John asked Jeremy and Bonnie when he arrived in the basement.

"Nothing," Jeremy told him. "Except…"

"Except?"

"Well, Toby, Elowen's friend, he found this spell. It binds somebody's life force with Elena, but that person dies in the process. A life for a life."

John nodded and contemplated this for a moment. "Do it," he said at last. "On me. Do it on me."

Jeremy and Bonnie's eyes widened.

"What?" Jeremy blurted in surprise. "No! Are you crazy? You'll die!"

"I'm well aware, Jeremy, but this is Elena we're talking about. I've lived my life. Hers is just beginning."

Jeremy and Bonnie shared a look before Bonnie nodded her head. "Okay. I'll do the spell, but only if you're absolutely sure."

"I'm sure."

Bonnie started sifting through the grimoires. "Find the spell, Jeremy. It's in here somewhere."

Before they could even start, one of the grimoires opened on its own and flipped to the correct page. Bonnie picked it up and nodded her head.

"This is it. Are you ready?"

**xxxx**

"What's going on?" Jenna asked as she watched Stefan and Klaus talk at the top of the cliff. Elena shook her head.

"I- I don't know." Realization dawned on her and she turned to Jenna. "You can hear them. You can hear anything. Just focus on them."

"You don't need to kill Jenna. I'll take her place," Stefan was saying to Klaus.

"Oh, I don't know. I rather appreciate the symmetry and three women. Three goddesses, sacrificed at nature's alter."

"What are they saying?" Elena whispered to Jenna, who shook her head.

"I can't- I can't make it out."

"You can do this. Just relax. Focus."

"Don't play games with me." Stefan shook his head. "You'll get what you want either way."

"I can hear him," Jenna breathed in surprise. "I hear Stefan."

"What are they saying?" Elena asked in a quiet voice.

Klaus smiled amusedly. "You're quite the hero, aren't you? I've heard that about you."

"Just make the trade," Stefan repeated. "Me for Jenna."

Jenna's eyes widened when she heard this. "Oh my god."

"What is it?" Elena asked eagerly.

"He wants to take my place."

"I have to do something." Elena shook her head. "This can't happen. None of it."

Stefan and Klaus came walking down the hill and approached Elena and Jenna.

"Quite the predicament." Klaus tsked. "You know, it's funny, all this talk about preserving family, and here's Stefan, granting your wish."

"Stefan," Elena started. "Don't do this. What about Elowen?"

Stefan smiled at her sadly. "She'll have Damon. She'll be okay."

"Well." Klaus pointed a stake that he had in his hand between Jenna and Stefan. "Who's it gonna be, Elena?"

Elena shook her head. "No."

"Oh, don't worry. There's actually no choice." Klaus sped around Stefan and sank the stake in his back. Stefan screamed in pain and crumbled to the ground. Klaus broke the stake in half, leaving a chunk of it stuck in Stefan's back. "Did I forget to mention your girlfriend is already bringing me a replacement? She should be here any second. Besides, I have other plans for you. But, for now…" Klaus snapped Stefan's neck and he fell onto the ground.

Elowen had just made her way back down to the quarry and gasped when she saw Stefan laying on the ground. She rushed over to him. "What did you do?"

"Where's the vampire?" Klaus asked instead.

Elowen waved her hand and Luis appeared, floating a few feet above the ground. She wasn't paying attention to that, instead pulling Stefan's head into her lap. Klaus sighed dramatically and yanked Elowen to her feet by her arm.

"I'm not waiting all night, love. Start the spell, would you?"

Elowen turned towards the ring of fire Jenna was in and used her ice powers to extinguish it. Jenna tentatively stood up and walked out of the circle. Elowen waved her hand again and Luis took her spot. She dropped him onto the ground and then used her powers to unearth roots and vines from the ground and wrapped them tightly around Luis's wrists, ankles and neck, as she couldn't control fire.

"Go," Elowen told Jenna. "Get out of here."

Jenna shook her head. "No. I'm not leaving Elena."

"Jenna, go!" Elena yelled. "Please."

Jenna stared at Elena for a moment before nodding her head. She turned around, but Klaus was in front of her within seconds, plunging his hand into her chest and ripping her heart out.

"Jenna, no!" Elena cried, dropping to the ground. She started sobbing immediately while Elowen watched in shock. Klaus carelessly let her heart fall onto the ground.

"Why did you do that for?!" Elowen questioned loudly when she finally came to her senses. Klaus shrugged.

"We didn't need her anymore."

"But, you said you would spare her if I brought someone else!"

"I never said I would spare her. I said I'd let you swap her for someone else. Don't twist my words, love. Now, how about that ritual?"

Klaus walked off and Elowen turned to Elena, who was crying.

"I'm sorry," Elowen told her. "I'm so sorry. I tried."

From beside Elena, Jules moaned in pain as she tried to talk.

"Everything I did, I was just trying to help Tyler." Her words were directed at Elowen. "I didn't want him to be alone."

Elowen's face set into a glare. "He wasn't alone. He had Toby, and you took him away from his family. I have no respect for you."

She walked off towards Klaus, who was standing in front of a stone bowl that was filled with flames. He took the moonstone out of his pocket and looked at it for a moment.

"I spent 500 years looking for this. I hate to part with it."

He handed it over to Elowen, who took it. If it weren't for her power of knowing, she'd have no idea what she was supposed to do and everybody would be screwed. She dropped the moonstone into the bowl and sparks flew as the stone was destroyed. The ring of fire around Jules's dispersed on its own and Klaus walked over to her. Her eyes turned yellow and she tried using her werewolf speed to rush at Klaus, but he easily got the upper hand and pinned her to the ground. His hand was in her chest in seconds, tearing her heart out of her body. Elowen watched as the light left Jules's eyes. Klaus brought over her heart and hovered it over the stone bowl, where the blood dripped in. Elowen snapped out of it and started chanting the correct spell.

"Is it working?" Klaus asked from beside her. Elowen couldn't find her words, so she just nodded her head. Over by Elena, Luis started to stir and woke up. He fought against the roots holding him down and looked at his surroundings. He found Elowen and growled.

"You! Let me go! I'll kill you!"

Elowen jumped at the sound of his voice and for a second, fear flashed through her eyes as a reflex. Klaus noticed and glanced back at Luis. What exactly had this man done to make Elowen want her own father dead? Regardless of the reason, Klaus stalked over to him and loomed above him.

"Your turn," he told him as he grabbed the front of his shirt and ripped the roots as he forcefully pulled him to his feet.

"Who the fuck are you?" Luis hissed as he struggled against Klaus's grip.

"None of your concern, mate, considering you'll be dead in the next 10 seconds."

For probably the first time in his life, Luis felt scared. He wrestled even harder, but Klaus was much too strong for him. He reached Elowen and Luis immediately started begging for his life.

"Please! I'm sorry for everything I did, just get him to let me go."

Elowen glanced down at the partially broken stake Klaus had used on Stefan and carefully took it in her hands. Klaus, sensing what she was about to do, smirked and bent both of Luis's arms behind his back so his chest was nicely exposed. A lone tear fell down Elowen's face as she lifted the stake.

"I won't let you hurt us anymore."

"No! Please-"

Luis was cut off as Elowen stabbed the stake through his heart. His mouth hung open as his face started to turn grey and veins spread across his body. He fell against Klaus, who let him fall backwards onto the ground. He stepped over him and collected his blood to give to Elowen. He handed it over to her, and she poured it into the bowl.

Near Elena, Stefan woke up with a gasp. He felt the piece of the stake in his back and tried to reach it, but it was too far back for him to grasp. He looked over and saw Elena's tear streaked cheeks. He saw Jenna's lifeless body a few feet away, along with her heart lying next to her and understood.

"No," he whispered. He then found Elowen's eyes and glanced at the body that was in a heap at her feet and recognized it as Luis. What? Elena got his attention and put a finger to her lips.

"Are they going to kill him?" She asked lowly. Stefan nodded his head.

"Yes."

Klaus approached Elena and the ring of fire disappeared from around her. He extended his hand towards her, but Elena stood up and walked past Klaus, ignoring him. When she reached the altar where Elowen was, Elowen looked at her apologetically.

"I'm sorry about Jenna."

"You tried to save her," Elena mumbled. "Thank you."

Klaus came up behind Elena and turned her so she was facing him. Below them, Stefan struggled to get up from the ground, but fell back down, too weak to move.

"Thank you, Elena," Klaus said to Elena, who glared at him.

"Go to hell," she snapped.

Both Elowen and Stefan watched on helplessly as Klaus sank his fangs into Elena and started to drink from her. Slowly, Elena's eyes fluttered shut and her head lolled to the side as she died. When it was all said and done, Klaus let her drop to the ground. The fire in the bowl went out. Klaus walked away from the altar and looked up at the full moon.

"I can feel it. It's happening."

Klaus's bones began to break as the transformation started to happen. His eyes turned amber, but the veins of a vampire stayed on his face.

"Yes, yes!"

Suddenly, Klaus was thrown through the air. The flames in the bowl reignited, causing Elowen to back away. Damon appeared next to her and they nodded at each other as he bent over to pick up Elena's body. He took note of Luis, dead, at her feet, but figured now was not the time to ask. Bonnie came down the hill, chanting a spell.

"No!" Klaus's eyes widened. "You were dead!"

Elowen opened her mouth and started chanting a spell of her own, doubling the pain Klaus was feeling. His body contorted and shifted into uncomfortable shapes as Elowen and Bonnie brought him down.

Damon carried Elena over to Stefan and gently laid her down next to him. He grabbed hold of the remainder of the stake that was in his back and ripped it out. Stefan grunted his pain and sat up. Damon placed a hand on his shoulder to help him up, but Stefan shook his head.

"I need you to get her out of here."

"What about you?" Damon asked.

"I'm not leaving until he's dead. Go!"

Damon nodded and once again picked up Elena. He started carrying her away and sped off the rest of the way. Bonnie and Elowen continued chanting their respective spells, their combined powers so strong, not only did it make the winds pick up, but it caused nearby trees to fall over. Klaus screamed in pain as Elijah approached him.

"Elijah?" Klaus questioned in shock.

"Hello, brother," Elijah greeted calmly.

Stefan had gotten up and came to stand near Bonnie. Elowen was behind Elijah and Klaus. Elijah sank his hand into Klaus's chest and grabbed hold of his heart.

"In the name of our family, Niklaus..."

He twisted his hand in Klaus's chest, causing him to scream in pain again.

"I didn't bury them at sea!" Klaus said quickly. Elijah's face dropped.

"What?"

"Their bodies are safe! If you kill me, you'll never find them."

"Elijah!" Stefan called out. "Don't listen to him."

"Elijah, I can take you to them," Klaus told him. "I give you my word, brother."

Elijah was visibly having second thoughts.

"Do it and I'll take you both out," Bonnie threatened.

"You'll die," Elijah pointed out.

"I don't care."

Elowen knew she was about to solidify Elijah's next action, but she had to tell him.

"He's telling the truth!" She yelled over the roaring winds. "They're safe, Elijah. When you find them, tell Kol that Marisol loved him. He deserves to know."

"Elowen, what are you _doing_?!" Stefan yelled at her. Elijah glanced at her and then at Stefan and Bonnie.

"I'm sorry."

Stefan and Bonnie ran towards them, but before they could properly react, Elijah was gone with Klaus. They turned to Elowen.

"Why did you say that?!" Bonnie just about screamed at her. "We had him!"

"I'm sorry." Elowen was starting to cry, but she wasn't exactly sure why. "They were his family. I'm sorry."

She walked off of the altar and passed Stefan and Bonnie, back towards where she parked Damon's car. Neither of them went after her.

**xxxx**

Elowen was in her room, catching up on homework. Her glasses were perched on her nose, which was buried in a book that she was supposed to write an essay on. There was a knock at her door. She looked up to find Josiah dressed in all black.

"You aren't ready?" He asked her. Elowen bookmarked her spot, set the book down and sighed. She leaned back in her chair.

"I think it's best if I'm not there," she mumbled. "Jenna's dead because I couldn't save her, and I helped Elijah run away with Klaus. Everyone's mad at me."

Josiah came to sit across from her on her bed. "Not everyone."

Toby came into the room, also dressed in all black, and smiled sadly at the sight of them. He overheard everything.

"You go," he told Josiah. "I'll stay here with her."

"Are you sure?" Josiah questioned.

Toby nodded. Josiah cast one last glance at Elowen and stood up. He patted Toby on the shoulder and left the room. Toby took Josiah's spot and placed his hands on hers.

"Hey," he said softly to get her attention. She had tears in her eyes. "It wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it was. Marisol is making it so hard to make the right choices when it comes to Elijah and Klaus. Bonnie told me that she's slowly taking over my body and there's nothing I can do about it." She finally started to cry and took her glasses off to cover her face. "I did the ritual, Toby. Me."

"You had no other option. Klaus would've killed us all if you didn't. You did what you had to do."

"And Marisol? Are you sure I didn't help him because she made me?"

Toby sighed and brushed some of her hair from her face. "No."

He pulled Elowen into his arms as she cried and allowed her to let it all out.

**xxxx**

"We're going to head back to the house," Stefan told Damon. They were standing away from where the funeral was taking place to talk alone. "I was going to check on Elowen afterwards. Josiah said she's torn up about what happened." He paused. "Did you, uh… did you want to come?"

Damon slowly shook his head. "I think it's best I keep my distance from her from now on, brother. I'm not good for her, not with how I've been treating her. You, on the other hand, are a perfect candidate. You always have been. Be good to her."

"No, Damon, I won't let you do that. She loves you. She wouldn't just let you go like that."

"That's the thing, though, Stefan. She _doesn't_ love me, remember?" He sighed. "Besides, I can't stand to see her lose anyone else, and if I'm not around, then I won't."

Stefan furrowed his eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Tyler Lockwood bit me." Damon rolled up his sleeve to show Stefan to bite, which had gotten worse over time. A look of anguish crossed Stefan's face. "It's actually more of a nip, but there it is."

Stefan took Damon's arm in his hands and examined the bite. "We'll find something. A cure."

"There's no cure, Stefan."

"We kept Elena from dying, right? We found a way when there was no way. I _will _do this."

"You want to do something for me? Keep this from Elowen."

"You won't be able to hide it from her for long, you know that, right? And you know how she is about secrets, Damon. She'll kill you."

"I think the bite will kill me first."

Damon pulled his sleeve back down, clapped his hand on Stefan's shoulder, then turned around and left.

**xxxx**

**Author's Note: **This wasn't one of my favorite chapters to write because I wasn't able to fit a lot of non canon scenes in it, so I basically had to copy and paste the episode this time around. The story is almost over as there's only one more episode left for this season, and I'm excited to finally get to season 3! Season 1 took me over a year to upload since I was updating every twoish weeks to a month if I forgot, so I'm going to start posting chapters a lot quicker to get though them a bit faster. I've written up to the halfway point of season 5 and I can't wait for y'all to get there. I'm getting kind of antsy lol. I hoped you liked this was despite it being mostly the canon events of the episode :)


	41. Chapter 41

Elena and Jeremy were walking through the town square. A big projector screen was set up and various people were dressed up in period clothing.

"You brought me to see a girl movie?" Jeremy complained.

"We had to get out of the house, Jer," Elena replied. "This is our three hour distraction from reality."

"Is that what we're doing? Pretending like our lives aren't screwed?"

"We need to do this, okay? Breathe, eat, sleep, wake up and do it all over again until one day, it's just not as hard anymore."

Jeremy and Elena unfolded the blanket Elena had been holding and set it on the ground. She knelt down on it just as Caroline, Josiah, Toby and Elowen arrived. Elowen immediately faltered at the sight of Elena and Jeremy and stayed behind as the others approached them. Toby noticed, furrowed his eyebrows and went back to get her.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

Elowen shook her head. "Nobody told me they were going to be here." She took a few steps back. "I need to go."

Toby grabbed onto her arm before she could take another step. "Hey, stop, look at me. Don't look at them. Look at me." He waited until Elowen took her eyes off of Elena and Jeremy, who hadn't noticed her yet. "They don't blame you for what happened, okay? It wasn't your fault. But, if you really want to leave, I'll go with you."

Elowen shook her head again. "No, you should stay here. Don't let me stop you from having fun. I'll see you back at the house, okay?"

Elowen turned around and started to walk off when Elena looked over and saw her retreating form. She quickly got up and scrambled after her, causing everyone to look over at what she was going after. They saw a mess of curls with their back turned to them and realized what was happening. Caroline grimaced.

"Sorry, this is my fault," she apologized. "I should've told her you guys would be here."

"Would she have come otherwise?" Jeremy asked. "Elena's been trying to get ahold of her for days. She's been refusing to take her calls."

"She thinks Jenna dying was her fault," Josiah told him. "It's why she didn't come to the funeral."

Jeremy sighed and watched as Elena caught up with Elowen. Elena grabbed onto her shoulder to stop her from going any further.

"Hey," she said breathlessly. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," Elowen answered shortly as she tried to move around Elena. She stepped in front of her to block her way. "Can I please leave?"

"No, I need to talk to you. I've been leaving you all these messages."

"I got them. Is that it?"

Elena shook her head. "No. I wanted to thank you. You tried to save Jenna's life."

"Yeah, but I failed. She's dead because of me."

Elena shook her head. "No, she's dead because Klaus killed her. You did what you could. We all did."

"Are you forgetting the fact that I did the ritual? Or that I didn't try to stop Elijah from leaving? If I had just kept my mouth shut, maybe we could've stood a chance."

"You did the ritual because you had no choice. It still would've happened no matter which way you cut it. And the whole Marisol thing… it's not your fault. You have no control over that."

Elowen snorted. "That's an understatement."

Elena furrowed her eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Damon was right about me being Marisol reborn, except I don't just share her face. I _am_ her, she's _in_ me, and she's slowly taking over my body. Soon enough, I won't exist anymore. I won't be me. I never have been. I've just been some… incubator, waiting for her to hatch. My life isn't even my life, and I just have to live with that until I'm gone."

Elena's face was crestfallen. "There's nothing you can do about it?"

Elowen shrugged and shook her head. "Not that I know of. I haven't even told Stefan and Damon yet. I don't know how. Only Toby knows, and now you."

Elena smiled slightly. "Do you always tell him everything?"

Elowen nodded her head, also smiling. "Yeah. He's my best friend."

"He loves you, you know? Really loves you. I would've never stood a chance."

"He loves me in a way that I'll never love him. He understands that." She glanced back at Toby, who was laughing at something Jeremy said. "But, he did like you. Give it a try, would you? He deserves someone who can give him what he lacks from me."

Elena nodded her head. "Okay, I will. Are we good?"

"Yeah. We're good."

Elena reached over and hugged Elowen, who reciprocated awkwardly after a moment.

"Now, how about that movie?" Elena asked when they pulled back. They both laughed and headed back towards the others.

**xxxx**

Elowen suddenly sat up from her spot on the grass and looked around. Toby was snacking on some chips and looked around with her when he saw her.

"What is it?" He asked innocently.

"Something's wrong," Elowen blurted immediately after Toby was done talking.

Everyone else heard her and turned to her in confusion.

"What?" Caroline asked. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know." Elowen started to stand up. "But, I'm going to find out what it is. Don't wait up for me."

She didn't even make it 5 feet before Stefan walked up to her.

"Tell me what's the matter now, and don't try to lie to me, Stefan," Elowen demanded.

He looked around, gently grabbed onto her arm and pulled her away from the crowd.

"It's Damon, isn't it?" She questioned worriedly. "Stefan, what did he do?"

"It's not what he did, it's what happened to him." Stefan looked down at the ground and tried to find the right words, fully aware that Elowen was looking at him expectantly. "The other night, when Damon was helping Caroline and Tyler… Tyler was starting to transform…"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Stefan."

Stefan looked up and found that there were tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Her voice was already choked up. He pulled her into a hug and rested his chin on her head.

"I'm sorry, Elle. I'm so sorry."

Elowen silently cried against Stefan's shoulder, the only evidence being the slight shaking of her body.

"Hey, listen to me, it's not over." Stefan pulled back from the hug and held her face in his hands. "There might be a cure, but I have to find Klaus to get it."

Elowen sniffled and wiped at her face as she pulled back. "What do you mean?"

"Bonnie contacted Emily Bennett. The witches said Klaus's name, which must mean something, right?"

Elowen nodded her head. "Okay, okay, this is good," she reassured, but she couldn't tell if it was for Stefan or herself.

"Damon told me not to tell you, but, y'know, you hate secrets, and it's not easy to lie to you. You obviously knew something was up when I found you just now."

"Yeah, but I never thought it would be _this_." She shook her head. "I'm gonna go see him. If this is it, if he dies… he deserves to know that I love him. I don't think I could go to sleep at night if I never told him."

Stefan nodded his head and moved some of her hair out of her face. "Okay. Go. I'll find Klaus."

"There's a chance he'll kill you."

"I know, but he had the chance before and he didn't take it. Whatever Damon's done, whatever had led him here, I'm the one that made him become a vampire in the first place, so if there's a chance for a cure, I owe it to him to find it."

Elowen nodded. She leaned up and kissed him. "Keep me updated. I'll see you later."

They parted ways, Elowen headed for the boarding house and Stefan towards Alaric's apartment.

**xxxx**

Elowen entered the boarding house and found Alaric sitting on the couch in the living room. He stood up when he saw her.

"Hey," he greeted.

Elowen waved. "Hey, dad."

Alaric smiled at this. "Don't think I'll ever get used to that."

Elowen smiled back. Then, the smile fell off of her face. "Where is he?"

"The cellar. You sure about this?"

Elowen nodded. "Yeah."

Alaric stepped aside and let her continue her way down to the basement. She stopped in front of the cellar door and peered in. Damon was slumped against the wall with his eyes closed. She carefully unlatched the lock on the door and stepped in. She closed it behind her and used her powers to lock them inside, in case Damon tried to get away. He stirred at the sound of her and looked up.

"Stefan told you," he guessed.

"He didn't really need to." Elowen crouched down and sat cross legged on the ground across from him. "There's something I need to tell you before it's too late."

"And what might that be?"

Elowen tried to smile, but found that she couldn't bring herself to do it. Damon watched intently as she reached over and instead grabbed onto his hand. It was radiating the heat of a fever and clammy with sweat, but she didn't care. Before she knew it, she was crying again.

"Hey." Damon gently grabbed onto her face with his free and searched her eyes with his own. "Whatever it is, I can take it. It can't get worse than this."

Elowen wiped at her eyes with the palm of her hand and took a deep breath to collect herself. She wasn't sure why, maybe it was the shock or the denial, but she started laughing. It was better than sobbing.

"I finally fell in love with you," she managed to say at last. "I'm sorry it took so long."

Damon tried to chuckle, but it turned into a cough. "Impeccable timing, Wen."

Elowen sniffled. "I know."

"Listen to me, because this might be the last chance I'll get to say this, but I'm really sorry for thinking even for a second that you sided with Klaus that night. I'm sorry for all the nasty things I said about you behind your back and I'm especially sorry that I almost cost you Alaric. He's been so good to you and I was so blind with wanting to kill Klaus that it never occurred to me that it would crush you, Josiah, and your mom. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I need it. I need to hear it before I die."

"You're not going to die. Stefan is looking for a cure and he'll find it. I know he will."

"Do you mean that, or are you just saying that?"

"I mean it." Elowen scooted over and snuggled into Damon's chest, his arm slung over her shoulder. "I forgive you," she said quietly. "And when this is all over and you're better, because you will get better, we can…"

Damon shifted so he could look at her. "We can what?"

Elowen had to swallow down a fresh batch of tears. "Stefan and I have been talking about our future and what kind of life we could have, and I realized we haven't been including you in the conversation and that's not fair. Maybe we can finally have that discussion."

Damon leaned his head against hers. "Why don't we have it now? If Stefan really will find a cure, there's no time like the present, right?"

Elowen couldn't bring herself to look at him and instead, she stared at the wall ahead. "I want a family someday. A daughter. Stefan wants one, too. Evelyn and Claire."

She felt Damon's chest vibrate as he laughed, then coughed again. "Evelyn and Claire? Look at you two. You've already got names picked out and everything."

"Stefan said you wouldn't want kids."

"Kids and I don't have the best relationship, but for you? I'd give you everything you ever wanted as long as it made you happy." Damon was quiet for a moment before speaking again. "I wanted a son once upon a time, when I was still human. Y'know, someone to teach how to play baseball and be a man."

"Can you sound any more sexist?"

"Hey, it was the 1800s. Can you blame me?"

Elowen laughed. She went silent. "... I can give you a son, if you want," she said tentatively.

"What, by adopting? You don't seem like the type to not continue the witch line."

"No, I mean, like… artificial insemination, or something. I want to experience pregnancy. I also wanted to get married someday, but it's illegal to marry more than one person here."

"Then, we'll go somewhere where it isn't, like… Morocco, or somewhere like that."

Elowen smiled and buried herself farther into Damon's chest. His arm around her tightened.

"I just want to make one thing absolutely clear that I've already told Stefan. I don't want to be a vampire."

Damon paused. "I know," he mumbled after a moment. "You'd be an amazing vampire, though." He kissed the top of her head. "We're playing by your rules, remember? You call the shots, little witch. We decided that from the very beginning."

Elowen moved around a little to make herself more comfortable. "I know you'd prefer it if I made a choice, but I don't think I have it in me to do it. Call me selfish for loving you both, but I do, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Neither would I," he whispered.

Elowen could feel Damon's grip on her loosening and knew he was losing consciousness. She looked up and saw his head slumped to the side and his eyes were closed, but she didn't move. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his middle and brought him closer. She'd be here until the end, if that's what it came to. She hoped it wouldn't.

**xxxx**

Stefan opened the door to Alaric's apartment and stepped in. Katherine was sitting on the bed.

"Hello, Katherine," he said.

She stood up and stomped over to Stefan. "Two days, I've been waiting. I'm supposed to be free of Klaus's compulsion by now. He's supposed to be dead!"

Stefan shifted his weight between his feet. "We ran into… complications."

"Complications?"

"Doesn't matter now. I just need to find him. Do you have any idea where he might be?"

Katherine suddenly sped over to him and shoved him against the wall. She placed a finger to her lips to signal to be quiet. Elijah and Klaus walked through the door.

"Klaus, you're back." Katherine let go of Stefan. "Look who decided to come for a visit."

Klaus looked over at Stefan and smirked. "You just keep popping up, don't you?"

Stefan faced Klaus. "I need your help, for my brother."

"Well, whatever it is, it's gonna have to wait a tick. You see, I have an obligation to _my _brother that requires my immediate attention." Klaus turned and walked off to another part of the apartment, seemingly to grab something.

Elijah looked at Stefan. "You understand how important family is, or you wouldn't be here. My brother gave me his word that he would reunite me with my own."

"And so I shall," came Klaus's voice from behind Elijah. Elijah turned around and felt the dagger go through his chest as Klaus stabbed him. He groaned in pain as it happened and eventually fell against Klaus, who let him fall to the ground. Once he was dead, Klaus pushed Stefan against the wall.

"Now, what am I gonna do with you?"

He must've grabbed it from earlier, because he had a stake in his hand that he drove through Stefan's stomach. Stefan grunted in pain and leaned forward against Klaus.

"Do you feel that? It's scraping against your heart. The slightest little movement and you're dead."

Katherine, unable to just watch from the sidelines (this was Stefan they were talking about), stepped forward to try and stop it. "He's just trying to help his brother."

"The witches said you had a cure," Stefan breathed through the pain. "Make me a deal. Just give me the cure and I'll do whatever you want."

Klaus ripped the stake from Stefan, who fell to the floor. He then proceeded to walk over to the counter, place the stake on it, and then turned to pour himself a glass of blood.

"Trouble is, I don't know if you'd be any good to me the way you are now. You are just shy of useless."

**xxxx**

Damon had woken up and found Elowen sound asleep on his shoulder. She was nestled in the crook of his neck and he smiled weakly at her, reaching up to move some hair out of her face so he could look at her better. He suddenly grimaced in pain and rolled his sleeve up to look at the bite on his arm. It had gotten considerably worse.

Alaric had come down to check on him and Elowen and peered it through the cellar door window.

"Well, that looks bad," he commented.

"It feels worse. My subconscious is haunting me, Ric. Please tell me you have something for that."

Alaric put a glass of bourbon and his daylight ring on the windowsill. Damon carefully pulled Elowen off of him and gently laid her across the floor.

Alaric poured more alcohol into the glass. "Double shot."

"That's good." Damon got up and took hold of his ring to slip it back on his finger. He grabbed onto the glass. "So, my brother sent you for suicide watch? Was my girlfriend not enough?"

"Hey, I'm just doing what I was asked. He's just trying to help."

"He's doing what he always does, trying to right the wrongs of the past."

Damon doubled over out of nowhere and screamed from the wave of pain that passed him. Elowen stirred slightly from the noise, but didn't wake up.

"You should want me dead. I'm the reason Jenna got killed. She was your friend."

"I don't blame you for Jenna." However, his actions said something else, as he lifted the bottle of bourbon and took a long swig from it.

"Oh, sure you do. Let's not forget that I turned your wife into a vampire. You must really hate me for that one."

"Okay, give me your glass. Neither one of us is drunk enough for this conversation."

Damon staggered over, but instead of giving him his glass, he reached through the window and grabbed onto Ric's neck.

"Kill me. Please."

"No, especially not with Elowen in the room." He lifted his other hand and injected vervain into Damon's arm with a syringe. Damon fell to the floor next to Elowen, which this time, woke her up. She sat up and rushed to Damon when she saw him down.

"Relax, he's fine," Alaric reassured. She looked up at him. "It's just some vervain."

"I need blood," Damon mumbled. "I need blood."

Alaric walked off, presumably towards the fridge of blood that was kept in the basement, but Elowen pulled her sleeve up and offered her wrist to Damon.

"Here." She lifted his mouth towards her. "Drink."

His fangs had just sank into her when she heard a commotion outside the cell.

"Sheriff, over here," somebody said just outside the cell door.

"I wouldn't go in there!" She heard Alaric yell.

"I just want to talk to him," came Sheriff Forbes's muffled response.

Elowen's heart was beating out of her chest and she quickly used her powers to turn them invisible just as the door swung open. Sheriff Forbes entered with a gun in her hands and looked around the room in confusion.

"You said he was in here," she said to the deputy that was behind her over her shoulder. The deputy shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. Moving as quickly and as quietly as she could, Elowen dragged Damon onto his feet.

"We need to get out of here," she whispered into his ear. "Fast."

As Sheriff Forbes stepped farther into the room and dangerously close to where Elowen was standing, Damon took hold of her waist and sped out of the room.

**xxxx**

Stefan was still lying on the floor of Alaric's apartment. Klaus had a glass of blood in his hand and crouched down to speak to Stefan.

"I heard about this one vampire, crazy bloke, always on and off the wagon for decades. When he was off, he was magnificent. 1917, went into Monterrey and wiped out an entire migrant village. A true ripper. Sound familiar?"

Stefan shook his head. "I haven't been that way in a very long time."

"Well, that's the vampire I can make a deal with. That is the kind of talent that I can use when I leave this town."

Stefan slowly climbed to his feet as Klaus beckoned Katherine over. She carefully walked over and when she was close enough, Klaus seized her arm and bit into her wrist. She struggled against his grip, but failed to pull away. When she finally ripped her arm back, there was a nasty werewolf bite in its place. Without missing a beat, Klaus bit into his own wrist and forced Katherine to drink his blood. The bite healed within seconds.

"You want your cure? There is it."

"Your blood is the cure," Stefan realized.

"Got to love mother nature." Klaus put his hand on Stefan's shoulder. "Now, let's talk, you and I."

**xxxx**

Elowen stumbled through the town square with Damon on her arm. She wasn't able to keep them invisible and carry him at the same time, so they were at risk of being caught.

"Hey!"

Elowen turned and felt a rush of relief when she saw Jeremy, Josiah and Toby running up to her. They immediately took Damon from her and Jeremy and Toby slung his arms around their shoulders to keep him steady.

"We need to get him out of here," Elowen said quickly. "Sheriff Forbes is after him. The boarding house isn't safe."

Jeremy nodded. "Okay. Follow me."

The five of them burst through the doors of The Grill, which was empty, as everyone was out in the square, and helped Damon into a chair. Josiah pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Caroline.

"Hey, it's me," he said when she answered. "We're with Damon at The Grill."

Damon heard something, stood up and turned around. Sheriff Forbes was standing in front of him with her gun pointed at him and pulled the trigger. He sped away just in time, grabbing Elowen and taking her with him. The bullet hit Jeremy, who was directly behind Damon, and he went down. Josiah and Toby were by his side immediately.

"Oh, god." Sheriff Forbes rushed over and holstered her gun. "Oh, god." She grabbed onto her radio and started to speak into it. "I've got a gunshot victim at The Grill. Get the paramedics here."

Josiah was already mumbling a healing spell under his breath, but he wasn't strong enough for something like a bullet wound, and therefore blood was starting to run down his nose. Toby shook him.

"Hey. Hey! You'll be no use if you're fainted."

Bonnie and Caroline entered The Grill and saw the scene at hand.

"Jeremy!" Bonnie yelled as she ran over.

"Mom. Mom, what did you do?" Caroline asked.

"I was aiming for Damon," Liz replied, her face distraught as Caroline and Bonnie knelt down next to them.

"He still has his ring," Caroline noticed, but Bonnie shook her head.

"She's human. The ring won't work on him. Caroline…"

"I got it." Caroline bit into her wrist and pressed it against Jeremy's mouth. "Come on, Jeremy. Just drink. Go on, Jeremy. Drink."

"What are you doing?" Liz asked as she watched in confusion.

"I'm helping him. Jeremy, drink. Please. Please."

Jeremy didn't make any indication that he was going to drink and stayed lying there, motionless. Alaric entered and immediately rushed over when he saw them all huddled around Jeremy.

"What's going on?" He questioned, then saw the state Jeremy was in. "Oh my god."

"I know what I need to do," Bonnie sat as she sat up. "I need you to grab him, take him with us."

"No, no, no." Liz shook her head. "You can't move him. This is a crime scene."

Caroline grabbed onto Liz's arm when she tried to stop them. "Mom, you let them go."

Liz moved away and allowed Josiah, Toby and Alaric to lift Jeremy. They followed Bonnie out of The Grill and left.

**xxxx**

Klaus was using a knife to slice his hand open and let his blood accumulate into a small vial.

Klaus nodded at the vial. "There is it. You want to save your brother? How about a decade long bender? And I have big plans for you when we leave this town."

Stefan shook his head. "I'm not like that anymore."

"Well, that's too bad. You would've made a hell of a wingman."

Klaus started to pour the blood into the sink. Stefan quickly leaned forward.

"Wait."

Klaus stopped pouring the blood and smirked.

"Now that's more like it." He set the vial down and grabbed a blood bag. "I want you to join me for a drink." He slid the blood bag down the table towards Stefan, who took it in his hands. He ripped off the top and took a sip.

"Finish it," Klaus told him. "All of it. You do everything I say, and I save your brother. That's the deal."

Stefan brought the bag back up to his lips and drank all of the blood. Klaus slid him another bag.

"Again."

**xxxx**

Elowen and Damon once again stumbled through the town square. Nobody was answering their phones, not Caroline, not Josiah, not Alaric, nobody. She was trying her mom when the line finally went through.

"Elowen? Is everything alright? Ric told me about Damon."

"I need you to get to the town square," Elowen answered, getting straight to the point. "Now."

"Okay. I'll be right there."

Without any questions asked, Esmeralda ended the call, collected her things and left the house. Elowen walked behind the big projector screen and helped Damon sit against a pole. It was secluded back there and nobody was around. He groaned as Elowen squatted down next to him.

"Hey, my mom is on her way. It's going to be okay."

Damon's head turned to look at her and his eyebrows furrowed. "You're not Katherine."

"No, Damon, it's me. It's Elowen."

Damon reached out and touched her face. "Why do you look like her, but at the same time don't? Who are you?"

"Elowen," she told him helplessly. "It's Elowen. Damon, please. I'm not Katherine."

"No, you're not. Where is she?"

"She's not here. Damon, she left you, remember? She abandoned you."

Damon weakly shook his head. "No. Katherine would never do that."

"But, she did." Elowen placed her hands on either side of his face. "It's me. It's me."

Damon blinked and squinted his eyes. "Elowen?"

"Yes. Yes, it's me."

"Where are we?"

"The town square. My mom is on her way."

Esmeralda came up behind them at that moment and knelt down beside them. She touched Elowen's arm to get her attention.

"We need to get him out of here." She gestured behind her. "Come on."

Both of them grabbed one of Damon's arms and hoisted him up. They managed to get him to Esmeralda's car and they set off for the boarding house.

**xxxx**

Elowen and Esmeralda had helped Damon into bed and Elowen went downstairs to get a washcloth. Esmeralda followed her.

"Do you want me to stay?" She asked in a low whisper.

Elowen nodded as she wet the washcloth. "It would be nice. I don't think I could handle him alone, not like this."

"Okay. I'll be in the living room."

Elowen went back to Damon's room and stopped in the doorway for a moment. She sighed deeply and continued her way towards the bed. Damon looked worse for wear; his face was deathly pale and he was drenched in sweat. His head lolled to the side at the sound of her.

"Elowen."

Elowen came over and sat on the edge of the bed. She carefully dabbed the wet washcloth over his forehead. "Hey. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

"You should go. I could hurt you."

"I have the power to take you down if that's what it came to. I'm not leaving you."

"Get out of here."

Damon screamed in pain and coughed as he clutched his stomach. Elowen shifted her weight on the bed to where she could take Damon in her arms and laid him against her. She held him tightly against her chest and kissed the crown of his head.

"Hang in there, Damon. It's going to be okay. I promise you, everything's gonna be okay."

"It's not okay," Damon weakly mumbled. "It's not okay. All those years, I've blamed Stefan. No one forced me to love her. It was my own choice. I made the wrong choice. You tell Stefan I'm sorry, okay?"

Elowen nodded her head. "I will."

There was a long lapse of silence before anyone said anything again.

"This is even more pitiful than I thought." Damon coughed again as he spoke. Elowen had rested her head against his and refused to let go of him.

"There's still hope. Stefan will be here any second with the cure."

"I've made a lot of choices that have gotten me here. I deserve this. I deserve to die."

"No," Elowen immediately said. She moved to where she was lying down next to Damon, facing him. "You don't deserve death. Not you. Anybody but you."

"But, I do, Wen. It's okay, 'cause if I'd have chosen differently, I wouldn't have met you. I love you so much, Wen. So, so much, and I can die happily knowing that you love me back."

Elowen started to cry, but nodded her head nonetheless. Damon tried to smile and brushed some of her hair away from her face. She was wearing contacts today, so he could properly look into her eyes. He'd come to love her brown eyes that had golden flecks in the middle, and he especially loved the way the sunlight would hit them sometimes. It would just make her all the more beautiful.

"You should've met me in 1864. You would've liked me."

Elowen wiped some of her tears with the back of her hand. "I like you now, just the way you are."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Elowen leaned over and kissed him. When she pulled back, it was evident that he'd fallen asleep again. As quietly as she could, she slipped out of bed and went back downstairs. Esmeralda was sitting in the living room with a book from the library in her lap. She looked up when Elowen walked into the room and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To get the cure," Elowen replied determinedly. "I haven't heard back from Stefan and I don't think Damon has much longer. Keep an eye on him for me."

Esmeralda nodded her head. "Of course, honey. Anything I can do to help."

"Thanks, mom. I'll be back soon."

**xxxx**

Elowen approached the door to Alaric's apartment and raised her hand to knock.

"Come in, love," Klaus's muffled voice came from inside before her hand could make contact. She grabbed onto the handle and walked in. The scene in front of her made her pause, only for a second. Stefan was on his knees in the middle of the floor, surrounded by empty blood bags. He had blood smeared down his face and had just finished drinking one and dropped it when he saw her enter.

"Elowen? What are you doing here?"

"Same reason you're here," Elowen forced herself to say in a steady voice.

Klaus hummed in interest and turned around to face her. "Your boyfriend is being very cooperative. It's almost like he's enjoying it." He walked over to her and stopped directly in front of her. She could feel his breath hitting her face and did her best not to flinch when he raised a hand and touched her hair. "I was just about to make a deal with him in exchange for the cure to his brother's problem. Isn't that right, Stefan?"

"Leave her out of this," Stefan snapped.

"Oh, but she came here _so_ willingly and on her own accord. Why should I just cast her away?" Klaus faced Elowen again. "Now, what should I do with you, hmm? What can you offer that your lovely boyfriend can't?"

"I can get you Marisol back," Elowen told him confidently.

Klaus's hand dropped from her hair. "What?"

From behind him, Stefan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Elle, what are you talking about?"

Elowen closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them, she looked from Klaus to Stefan.

"Jeremy and Bonnie found something in one of the grimoires. It said that when a witch dies an unjust death, their soul waits for another to latch onto and slowly begins to take over until their host is gone." Her eyes found Klaus's again. "If you wait long enough, she'll take my place. I won't be alive anymore, but she will. You'll have her again."

"No…" Stefan whispered from his spot on the floor. He quickly got to his feet and started towards Klaus and Elowen. "Listen to me, get out of here and find a way to stop this from happening, you hear me? Go!"

"I wouldn't take another step forward if I were you," Klaus told him. Stefan stopped a few feet away. Klaus stared at Elowen for a moment before turning around and picking up a glass full of blood. He took a sip and placed it back on the table. "I am a bit, well, lacking in the witch department, so to speak. How about we make a deal? You two can either remain here living your lives in Mystic Falls, or you," Klaus pointed at Stefan, "can embrace what you truly are, and you," he pointed at Elowen, "can live to your full potential, leave town with me, and save Damon's life."

Without missing a beat, Elowen nodded her head. "Okay."

Klaus smirked. "That's the spirit."

Stefan looked on helplessly. He knew there was nothing he could say to either Klaus or Elowen to get them to change their minds. Klaus turned around towards Stefan.

"And you? What do you say?" Klaus took a lone blood bag that was sitting on the table next to his glass and tossed it at Stefan, who snatched it from the air, tore it open and drank viciously. Klaus's smirk widened. "I'll take that as a yes." He walked over and took the vial of his blood in his hands, then went over to Katherine. "Sweetheart… take this over to Damon and come right back."

"You want me to leave?" Katherine asked eagerly.

"No!" Stefan cried from behind them.

"Yes, and if I were you…" Klaus trailed off.

Katherine took the vial and tried to speed out of the apartment, but she hit an invisible force at the door and hit against it a few times. She turned around.

"What the hell?"

Klaus shrugged indifferently. "It's not me, Katerina."

From beside him, Elowen's nose was beginning to bleed. "You take that right to Damon, or else I will personally find you and kill you myself, Katherine. I have the power to do it. Don't underestimate me." She nodded towards the door. "You can leave now."

Katherine slowly waved a hand through the open door. When she found she wasn't stopped, she vanished down the hall.

**xxxx**

Esmeralda was sitting on the edge of the bed, wiping another damp washcloth around Damon's face. His eyes fluttered open and he looked around the room.

"Where's Elowen?"

"She went to get the cure. She'll be back before you know it."

Damon coughed and some blood dribbled down his chin. Esmeralda ran the washcloth over it and cleaned it away. He groaned in pain and, without meaning to, tightly gripped onto Esmeralda's wrist. It was taking everything in her to not throw up. She could feel every bit of Damon's pain and she had no idea how he was handling it.

"I'm sorry," Damon apologized suddenly. "For everything I've done. You're a good person, Esmeralda. You raised an amazing daughter."

Esmeralda smiled slightly. "Yeah, yeah I did. Y'know, I thought she was crazy at first for taking a chance on you. I was worried that she was putting herself in another abusive situation because that was all she'd ever known. I remember thinking to myself, 'Why him? Stefan has everything she needs'. I know better now. You would never hurt her, and neither would Stefan."

"I would die for her if that's what it ever came to."

"I know you would. Thank you."

Damon tried to smile back. "You're welcome."

"Well, it's me you should be thanking."

Esmeralda looked over her shoulder and found Katherine leaning against the doorframe of Damon's room. She was holding a small vial in her hand.

"I mean, I'm the one who brought the cure."

Esmeralda stood up defensively. Katherine rolled her eyes.

"Oh, calm down." She started walking towards the bed. "I'm here to help."

"You got free," Damon wheezed weakly.

"Yep. Finally." Katherine had made it over to the bed and poured some of Klaus's blood into Damon's mouth.

"And you still came?"

"I owed you one. Besides, your girlfriend sort of threatened to kill me and the last thing I want to do is piss off a witch channeling that much power."

Katherine got up and started heading back over to the door.

"Where's Elowen and Stefan?" Esmeralda asked before she was gone. She turned back around and lifted the vial.

"They're paying for this. They gave themselves over to Klaus. I wouldn't expect either of them anytime soon."

"Gave themselves over to Klaus?" Esmeralda clenched her jaw. "You better not be saying what I think you're saying."

"Oh, but I am. They just sacrificed everything to save Damon, beloved brother and the love of Elowen's life. By the way, if you ever see her again, tell her that it's okay to love them both. I did."

Katherine tossed the vial over to Esmeralda, who caught it, then disappeared out of the room.

**xxxx**

Klaus, Stefan and Elowen were standing in a warehouse, surrounded by various wooden crates. There were two men standing nearby that had been compelled to help them. Klaus was standing over Elijah's body, who was lying in a coffin.

"I suppose, brother, you've been reunited with our family." Klaus closed the coffin and looked at the two men. "Put him with the others. We're leaving town tonight."

Elowen furrowed her eyebrows. "Others?" She whispered to herself. Klaus heard her, but didn't say anything. "Kol?"

Klaus snapped his head over in her direction just as she started dreamily walking towards the rest of the coffins that were sitting neatly inside one of the open moving truck cabins. His hand shot out and tightly grabbed her arm.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Elowen blinked and looked around her surroundings. "Huh?"

"Stop." Stefan walked over and removed Klaus's hand. "She doesn't know what she's doing. Look at her."

Klaus looked at her dazed face and cloudy eyes and roughly let her go. She stumbled slightly and Stefan took hold of her waist to steady her. Finally, she seemed to come out of her stupor. She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms and shook her head.

"Everything's starting to get fuzzy," she said to Stefan. "I think I'm gonna faint."

"Here, just sit down. Take a break."

Stefan led her to a chair that was sitting nearby and helped her into it. She leaned over and held her head in her hands. She could feel her temples pounding against her fingers. Her phone buzzed and she barely managed to look at the text. It was from her mom.

_Damon's okay. Please be safe. We'll get you back, I promise._

"So, did Katerina make it in time?" Klaus asked as Elowen put her phone away.

"You won't be seeing her again, you know," Stefan told him.

"Because she's on vervain? I've been around a long time, Stefan. I rarely get played for a fool. Besides, she won't get far. You'll both help me see to that."

Stefan walked closer to Klaus and lowered his voice so Elowen wouldn't hear. "What is it that you really want from me?"

"All will be explained in time, once we leave this tragic little town."

"Then are we done here? Can we go?"

"Not quite. You see, I have a gift for you." Klaus turned around and beckoned someone over. "Come here, sweetheart. Don't be afraid." A girl walked out from behind a crate. There was fear in her eyes and she approached Klaus and Stefan. "See, I wanna make sure you honor our deal, that you'll be of use to me." Klaus leaned down and bit her neck, exposing the smell of blood into the air. "I could've compelled her to behave, but a real ripper enjoys the hunt."

Elowen looked up as the girl ran away screaming. For a moment, Stefan made no movement, but then he suddenly sped in front of her and sank his fangs into her neck. He drank until she fell to the floor, dead. Elowen watched on sadly. There was nothing she could do about this. Taking a deep breath, she wobbled back onto her feet and walked past Klaus.

"Let's just get out of here."

Klaus smirked. "Good idea, witch. Now we can go."

**xxxx**

**Author's Note:** So, we have officially met the end of season 2! I hope y'all enjoyed this one. Season 3 will be posted soon. S3 has so far been the most fun season I've written due to being able to write Klaus more, and I worked hard to portray him correctly and as accurate as I could, so I hope you guys can appreciate that. All of the Originals were super fun to write actually, especially Rebekah, who I also did my best to get right. Till next time, goodbye!


	42. Chapter 42

**Author's Note:** Aaaaand season 3 is officially posted! I know I've said it before, but I'm super excited for y'all to see this one because it's my favorite that I've written so far. If you continue to follow the series, thank you so, so much! It really means a lot. If this is where it ends for you, I'm sorry to see you go, but I hope you still enjoyed it nonetheless. Head to my profile and follow season 3, and I hope you enjoyed season 2! :D

**xxxx**

_Elowen, Stefan and Klaus all watched from the distance in the shadows as a woman exited her house through the kitchen door. Klaus made a move to approach her, but Elowen shot her hand out and stopped him._

_"Let me do it. She's more likely to let me in."_

_"Oh?" Klaus quirked an eyebrow. "And why is that?"_

_"Because I'm a girl, genius. Women are much more likely to be victims of kidnappings, murders or assaults that are usually committed by men. Just let me do it."_

_Klaus put his hands up in surrender and stepped back. As Elowen stepped forward to go to the woman, a small puppy came running up to her with its tail wagging wildly. This must've been the dog the woman was calling for. She carefully picked him up and made her way up the driveway._

_"Is this the little guy you're looking for?" Elowen asked when she came into view. "I found him digging in my yard. I figured I'd start knocking on doors to find his owner."_

_"Oh, I'm so sorry!" The woman apologized. She walked over and took the puppy from her hands. "He gets out a lot since we have no yard. I hope he wasn't too much trouble."_

_"Oh, nothing a shovel can't fix. Well, I should get going."_

_"Wait! Let me at least give you something for bringing him back. My roommate is inside making dinner. Stay?"_

_Elowen laughed. "You're going to invite a complete stranger into your home just because I returned your dog?"_

_"Well, when you put it that way…" The woman stuck out her free hand so Elowen could shake it. "I'm Lea."_

_Elowen shook her head. "Gwen."_

_"Nice to meet you, Gwen. See? Now we're not strangers. How about that dinner?"_

_Elowen smiled. "Well, if you insist."_

_Lea turned and walked back into the house. Elowen turned to where she knew Klaus and Stefan were and nodded in their direction. Klaus looked mildly impressed that she'd managed to get into the house and silently stalked closer, followed by Stefan._


End file.
